Ungrateful
by Niliav
Summary: A more indepth look into more of the dramatic elements of the original NWN. Updated the latest chapter to be less crappy. Should be a bit better.
1. Prologue

Authors note: Another novelization of the OC. I took a lot of artistic license on this and changed a lot of stuff though it's basically the same story. Added to a lot of the things that needed some work (the romance part for example). Well anyway, I hope you enjoy this and leave a review with any mistakes found in here or how much you like it.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, OC storyline. The only thing I own is Caldor Erion because he is my teddy bear.  
  
Caldor's arrival to Neverwinter was not a very pleasant one. Not only were a majority of the citizens deathly ill but there was also no vacancy in any Inn in the entire city.

"You have got to be kidding me." Caldor grumbled as he headed toward the Hall of Justice.  
As he entered the building, he saw rows of cots with dying patients laid out on top of them. Nurses ran about everywhere trying to tend to all of the patients. Caldor shook his head as he looked down at one of the many dead. As he kneeled down to say a prayer he was immediately grabbed by one of the head priests.  
  
"Are you Caldor Erion?"  
  
"Aye."  
  
"It is good to see you made it in one piece, sir. The Lady Aribeth is not present at the moment but she told me to tell you that there is a room for you in the Neverwinter Academy. The school is in the Beggar's Nest. Just tell the Headmaster who you are. Good luck to you. Sir Erion." With that said the cleric ran off before Caldor could thank him.  
  
"Humph." Caldor grunted as he headed out the door. "I guess I'll talk to her tomorrow."  
  
The next morning, a sharp rap at the door woke Caldor. "Come in." he shouted drowsily.  
  
A young elven girl opened the door gingerly and looked inside. "The Lady Aribeth would like you to meet her in the graduation room."  
  
Caldor mumbled out thanks and sent her away. He rolled out of the bed, landing on the floor on all fours. He stretched out a bit and did a couple push-ups before he stood up and stumbled toward the mirror. He washed his face and brushed out his long brown hair then stared at himself in the mirror. His milky green eyes stared at him and coppery tone in his skin shown brightly. He stood up straight and stared at the copper dragon tattoo that covered most of his chest. Though it was slightly distorted by his muscle, its shape was still recognizable.  
  
Caldor smiled then frowned as he traced his finger along the outline. _'I want to go home.'_

He quickly put on his armor, the pauldrons had been removed a while back for better flexibility. Picking up his great sword and sheath, he swept out into the Academy halls, heading toward the graduation room.

Once he finally reached the room, he saw many students spread around the room.  
"All of these greenies. These 'adventurers' are going to cure a plague?" he questioned under his breath. Caldor was still confused about how a bunch of newbie's were going to cure a plague with a weapon. He continued his way through the crowd to the altar at the back of the room.  
  
A beautiful elven woman stood at the altar watching him curiously as he made his way toward her. Though he looked of elven descent, he was at least 6ft. tall where usually elves reach about 4 to 41/2 ft.  
  
"Good morning m'lady." Caldor said bowed, "I am Caldor Erion, Paladin of Helm."  
  
"Greetings Caldor. I am Aribeth de Tylmarande, paladin of Tyr."  
  
_'So it is true. We are both oddball paladins of human gods.'_ Caldor thought with a smile. Aribeth looked up at him with a smile and was immediately drawn to his eyes. The milky green orbs seemed to glow and the shape of the pupils was quite strange. At this viewpoint they appeared to be in the shape of a round dragon head. Caldor watched her curiously as she looked into his eyes. Aribeth began to lean forward, trying to get a better look, but Caldor placed a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"M'lady? Are you alright?" Caldor asked with a slight laugh. Aribeth shook her head and cleared her throat.  
  
"Ahem, umm yes. It is good of you to arrive so quickly on such short notice Caldor."  
  
"Hmm, what is it that you wish of me m'lady? I've heard all the trainees here talking about how they are going to cure the plague when they graduate. I don't understand how you intend to cure a great sickness with a weapon." Caldor said.  
  
Aribeth smiled, "I knew you would ask. You see we... Do you feel that?" Caldor had indeed felt that feeling of impending doom. He unsheathed his sword and looked around the room, ignoring the curious stares from the now quiet graduates.  
  
"We are under attack!" Caldor and Aribeth yelled as four wizards appeared in the room. They immediately began casting spells at the young adventurers, killing some instantly. Caldor rushed one of the wizards quickly stabbed him in the heart as he ran toward the wizard at the opposite corner. He kneed the wizard in the gut and when he doubled over, Caldor cut off his head. On the other side of the room, Aribeth finished off her second wizard then ran to where Caldor was standing.  
  
"Here Caldor, take this key and head to the stables. You must protect the Waterdhavian creatures!"  
  
"Huh? You're not comin' with me?" Caldor asked.  
  
"No, I think this attack was centered on me. Now you must hurry!" Aribeth pushed Caldor out the door before he could say anything more.  
As soon as he stepped into the hall, he was face-to-face with another wizard. "What? I was expecting the Lady Aribeth not some lowly adventurer!" The wizard sneered. Caldor tried to slash him but his attack didn't make a scratch.  
  
"We'll see how you deal with my minions, fool!" The wizard disappeared and two goblins appeared and tried to attack the paladin. Caldor stared at the goblins as their feeble attacks bounced off his chest plate. "The hell?"  
Caldor slashed at the goblins and managed to kill one that hadn't dodged or jumped away. The second goblin jumped at him, short sword at the ready. Caldor side stepped and slammed the back of his hand against the goblin's neck. The paladin continued running down the hall, killing any goblins that got in his way.  
On the way, Caldor found a shaken young human, Pavel, sitting on the ground and surrounded by goblin corpses.  
  
"Get up boy!" Caldor yelled as he dragged him to his feet, "Follow me." Pavel followed Caldor to the stables but they were stopped by the wizard leader.  
Caldor charged the wizard, dodging quickly to avoid a few Magic missiles. Pavel picked up a throwing axe and threw it at the wizard but missing as the man twirled to the side, avoiding the axe and throwing an Acid Arrow at Caldor. The paladin tried to avoid the arrow but was hit in the upper arm.  
He grimaced but continued charging the wizard and tackled him. The wizard kicked him off and took out his quarterstaff brandishing it menacingly. Caldor unsheathed his sword and swung it hard at the wizard. The man parried his blow and swung at Caldor's head.

The paladin ducked and rushed the wizard hitting him in the stomach with his shoulder. The man fell to the ground and held his quarterstaff up to try and block Caldor's next attack. The paladin swung the sword down powerfully, cutting the quarterstaff in half and ending the man's life. Both men arrived in the stables in time to see the final Waterdhavian creatures making their escape from the attacking goblins. Near the back doors of the stables were a young elf and an extremely ugly human fighting off some of the stronger goblins.

Caldor slashed at the bite-sized attackers taking out one of the weaker goblins. A well armored one, most likely the leader, swung at Caldor's legs. He jumped back and Pavel punched the goblin in the face, knocking it over. He then kicked the goblin as it tried to get up. A red fury formed in Pavel's eyes his he moved toward the goblin. The small creature looked up at him and squeaked as Pavel brought his mace down heavily on the creature's head.

The elf and human finished the last goblin and the battle was over. The young elven man looked around the now empty room and began to panic.  
"The Academy students slain, the Waterdhavian creatures gone! No! This can not be!" he cried.  
  
"All is lost Fenthick! And where was the Lady Aribeth during all of this?" The human asked nastily.  
  
"Aribeth sent me here to protect the creatures." Caldor said calmly.  
  
"You? She sent a whelp of a man instead of coming herself?" The man shouted.  
  
"Hey buddy, she sent me here because she thought the attacks were centered on her."  
  
"Well obviously that's not the case since everyone else is dead!" The human growled.  
  
"Humph. This fiasco pretty much summed up the usefulness of this 'Academy'. Everyone died to goblins! Goblins, the most pathetic creatures on Faerun!" Caldor yelled at the man.  
  
"Bah! I'll leave you and your lady love to clean up this mess, Fenthick," with that said the man walked out the doors and disappeared into the night.  
"Please forgive Desther. The stress caused by the plague is really taking its toll on him. I'm Fenthick Moss. Who might you be?"  
"I'm Caldor Erion, paladin of Helm." Fenthick nodded and looked around the stables.  
  
"This event only confirms our suspicions that someone is behind this plague. Not only do we have to find out who it is, now we must find those creatures for the cure. Sir Erion, will you help us in this undertaking?"  
  
Fenthick looked up at Caldor pleadingly. "Of course, the ones behind this must be found. Plus I don't like the sight of all these sick people." Fenthick smiled and shook Caldor's hand heartily.  
  
"That is excellent news! Please meet with me a week from now in the Hall of Justice."  
  
"See you in a week than." Caldor replied. Fenthick bowed before Caldor than ran out into the city. Pavel who had been standing behind Caldor timidly finally spoke up. "This isn't for me. I should have stayed at the farm. Both of us..." He blinked back tears for his dead brother.  
  
"The life of an adventurer isn't for a lot of people." Caldor said calmly.  
  
"Very true, well it was an honor to meet you Sir Caldor. May the gods watch over you." Pavel stumbled out of the stables and into the night. Caldor took out a rag and wiped the remaining goblin guts off his chest plate. "Hm...so it begins."  
  
Note: The next chapter will have a lot more action than this.


	2. Chapter 1

Author's note: Okay if you happened to not get Caldor's description he's 6'2", copper toned skin, about 150 years old, muscular, elven features (mostly in the face), the wingless copper dragon tattoo, dark brown semi-shoulder length hair, and milky green eyes with the round dragonish pupils. There we go, oh and about the spacing, I don't know what's up with it. In word it's nicely spaced and readable but is clumped together for some reason on here. The action will get better in this chapter, can't really make killing an extremely pathetic goblin more dramatic.

I am amazed at how quickly you answered the summons!" Fenthick exclaimed as Caldor entered the room.

"This is a mistake Fenthick! We don't know anything about this paladin! How do we know if he can be trusted?" Desther questioned.

"Please Desther. Caldor is a man of his word. Aribeth requested his presence here in Neverwinter strictly to assist us in our endeavors."

Caldor's brow furrowed at the sight of the human.

"Why isn't this task given to my Helmite brethren? Surely we could perform this task just as well." Desther added.

The paladin grimaced, "You are a follower of Helm?"

"Yes he is a Watchknight from Helm's hold that came to assist us in curing the plague."

Caldor frowned and watched a nurse tending to a patient on the other side of the room.

"Humph, I was at Helm's Hold three months back and I had never seen you there or heard of you. The faces of your Helmite brethren are not familiar to me either. I know everyone at the Hold." The elf turned his eyes towards Desther and watched him squirm.

"Well my clergy and I must have arrived after you left." Desther mumbled.

"I don't know. If you are not originally from the Hold then you would have not been sent here to Neverwinter to help. My friend Tomas Ship would have been sent here." Caldor watched Desther suspiciously.

Fenthick watched Desther silently waiting for his response.

"Enough of this, don't you have something you need to tell Caldor?" Desther said to Fenthick while keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Err yes, Sir Caldor you must go see the Lady Aribeth. She is in charge of finding the creatures. If you find anything regarding the culprits behind the attack please tell me."

Caldor nodded to Fenthick and looked at Desther once more before walking out of the room. He heard a sight of relief emit from the human and he grinned. _'I knew it.'_

Aribeth tapped her foot impatiently as she watched the door for Caldor's appearance. Hearing the creak of the now opening door, she stood upright. When Caldor walked out the door, Aribeth's breath caught in her throat.

The handsome elf walked briskly toward her and bowed. She inspected the new set of armor that he now sported. It looked to be made of supple blue leather accented with golden chain mail and like his previous suit it lacked pauldrons. On the breastplate a golden symbol of Helm glowed brightly in the torchlight. The silken blue cloak brushed against his back as he stood upright.

"Nice armor." She complimented with a smile.

"Thank you m'lady. I started working on it the day after the attack and just finished it yesterday." Caldor told her.

"Ah, a blacksmith." Aribeth stated.

"And a tailor among other things, now Fenthick said you would brief me on what I am supposed to do."

"Yes, you will need to go to the four districts of Neverwinter to find the lost creatures. There have been sightings of strange creatures in these areas since the attack on the Academy. The four creatures are a yuan-ti, an intellect devourer, a cockatrice and a dryad. You'll most likely have to kill the first three so I want you to get the yuan-ti's heart, the devourer's brain and the feathers of the cockatrice. The Dryad is a gentle creature so just bring her to me."

Caldor nodded and watched her intently, "Anything else?"

"Oh aye, here take this recall stone. If you need to come back here quickly you can use it from wherever you are and be transported back here. If you need to get back you can use the portal you came from but will need to leave a small donation. Also if you need any assistance in this task, you can hire someone at the Trade of Blades out in the City core." Aribeth replied.

"Okay, oh and is it true that you and Fenthick are to be wed?" Caldor asked.

"Yes it is indeed true." Aribeth said with a smile.

"Well, my congratulations to you." Caldor smiled, bowed then headed toward the exit.

Aribeth watched him leave and noticed the copper dragon skillfully embroidered on the silk cloak. "Hmm."

"Her and Fenthick? Heh, now that's funny." Caldor said under his breath.

Once he stepped outside, a frantic looking woman grabbed him.

"Please sir you must help me!" the woman wailed.

"Slow down there lass. Now what seems to be the problem?" Caldor said as he steadied the woman back on her feet.

"Well I live in the Peninsula district and the whole place has been overrun by criminals!" Caldor quirked an eyebrow and tapped his chin.

"Yes, I have heard about that, please continue."

"Yes, well it was the head gaoler that let them out! Such a strange thing that he would just release all of those animals!" The woman added.

"Indeed. I will be heading there shortly. You just stay here in the city core where it's safe."

"Thank you kind sir." The woman did a slight curtsy.

Caldor nodded and headed down the ramp towards the Trade of Blades. The building was bustling with many scruffy looking mercenaries and the general atmosphere was smoky and smelled heavily of tobacco and alcohol. Caldor surveyed the room intently then started walking through the crowd. After looking around for close to fifteen minutes, Caldor sat down at the bar and ordered a pint of ale.

"This is hopeless." He grumbled.

"What's hopeless paladin?"

Caldor looked towards the voice and was taken back by the beautiful human female sitting next to him. She smiled at him and swirled her glass of elven wine.

"My search for a suitable henchman is what is hopeless." Caldor replied with a slight smirk.

"What are you looking for in a henchman, hmm?"

Caldor looked her up and down, "Hm, I am looking for a bard. A beautiful, red-headed human female bard." Caldor licked his lips and looked her straight in the eye.

The bard turned to the bar and gave him a sideways glance.

"What's your name paladin?"

"Caldor Erion. What's your name bard?"

"Sharwyn."

"Just Sharwyn?" Caldor asked.

"Just Sharwyn." She smiled at him and finished the rest of her wine.

"Why do you need a henchman?"

"Playin' hide and seek with some Waterdhavian creatures to get the ingredients for the plague cure. Basically, I'm working for the Lady Aribeth." Caldor replied.

"Hmm, sounds interesting. I'd be interested in helping you...for a price of course. Say 250 gold?"

"Eh, that's a bit steep. How about 150?"

"Um...no, 250." Sharwyn told him.

"Please." Caldor flashed a smile.

Sharwyn laughed and said, "Well since you asked so nicely, 150 it is."

"Great!" Caldor took out the gold and dropped it into her outstretched hand.

"And this is for you. This is my contract saying that I'm working for ya." She passed Caldor a piece of paper and he put it into his pack.

"Well that's settled then. I vow to keep you safe from all harm while we are searching for the creatures." Caldor told her.

"That's good to know and by the way, what exactly are you?" Sharwyn asked.

Caldor had stood up to stretch and now stared at the redhead curiously. Sharwyn stood up and circled around him.

"Well you definitely aren't a pure blood elf. You're taller than me, have coppery colored skin, extremely built for an elf and you have the strangest green eyes I have ever seen. Explain yourself." Sharwyn looked up at him and patiently waited for his explanation.

"Well if you must know, I am part dragon. Copper dragon that is. My father is part dragon and part human. He lives with my grandfather, Jinkej, in the Spine of the World where the rest of my clan resides. Including my mother."

Sharwyn stared at him in surprise and he just smiled. The bard looked closer at his smile and saw that he had semi-long and sharp canines.

"Wow, this is so weird." Sharwyn laughed.

"What? I'm still a normal guy...somewhat." Caldor grinned and finished off his pint of ale.

"Well my adventures with you should make an interesting ballad.

Caldor just smiled and shook his head.

"So shall we go? The peninsula district is our first stop." Caldor told her as he took off his cloak and placed it into his pack. Sharwyn disappeared into the back of the building and returned with her pack and a two-bladed sword.

"Ah, so that's your weapon. Expected you to have a rapier or something."

"Nah, too weak."

Caldor grinned and turned towards the door, pushing his way through the crowd. Sharwyn, who was following him, was grabbed by the wrist by someone in the crowd and instinctively grabbed the collar of Caldor's chain shirt.

"Where you goin' Sharwyn? I thoughts we was going to get together." A burly looking human who smelled of hard liquor asked the bard.

"I've been hired to work for someone and I never said we were getting together." Sharwyn answered.

"Nah, who's tha punk that's takin' you huh? I'll smash 'is face in!"

"I'm the punk she's working for scum." Caldor folded his arms across his chest and glared at the man.

"Ah, tha pretty boy. Well you can't take Sharwyn! She's stayin' here wit me!" The human threw a punch at Caldor and the paladin caught his fist.

"You are quite the rude one." Caldor said as he began to crush the man's hand.

"Agh! Lemme go! Stoppit yous crushin' ma hand."

"Obviously." Sharwyn said with a smirk.

Caldor continued to squeeze the hand until he heard the bones shatter. "There, that should teach you some manners."

Caldor turned and led Sharwyn out of the room as the mercenary stared dumbly at his broken hand.

"Ah much better!" Sharwyn took in a deep breath of air.

"But it smells like burning corpses out here."

"That's true but it was a brief reprieve from the smell of cigars and ale."

Caldor nodded and lead the way to the peninsula district gate, only stopping to purchase a map of the city from the nearby merchant. He saluted the guard standing in front of the gate and told him that he was working for Aribeth. The guard nodded and let them pass into the district.

Once they were inside the guard captain of the district stopped them. "What are you doing in here?"

"We're working for Aribeth to find some creatures." Caldor replied.

"Well I don't know anything about any creatures but I do know that this place is crawling with prison escapees. Damn that Alaefin! He's been actin' so weird lately."

"Hm, well we're going to the prison. See if we can find out what's going on."

"All right then, I hope you know where yer goin'. Just go up that ramp and watch out for the escapees. Oh and you might want to go see Sedos Sebile too. I'll mark her headquarters on your map."

Caldor thanked the man and headed toward the ramp followed closely by Sharwyn. Four escapees dashed out from between the buildings and ran towards them. Before either could react the guard bowmen showered the prisoners with a volley of arrows.

"Well that was pointless." Caldor said to Sharwyn as he stepped over a dead dwarf.

She just grinned and shook her head as she followed him through the rubble.

"So uh, what was a nice girl like you doing in a place that resembles a giant's asshole? You don't seem like a mercenary to me." Caldor stated.

Sharwyn smirked and tossed her hair to the side, out of her face. "Just looking for work."

"Hm, I don't know. There is something about you. You were really out of place there, like you were above all those lowly mercenaries. Someone...noble perhaps." Caldor stopped walking and glanced at her sideways.

Sharwyn kept walking and stopped only a short distance in front of him. "Noble? Heh, where did you get that idea?"

"The way you hold yourself, perfect posture I might add. The way you speak, carefully articulating everything you say. That haughty look you're giving me now." Caldor said with a smile as he walked in front of her and turned to look directly into her eyes.

"Humph, well you guessed right. I am of noble blood. What of it?" Sharwyn huffed.

"I'm just curious about how you come from nobility to the life of a mercenary bard."

"I...I don't know you well enough to tell you that. Maybe at a later time." Sharwyn said quickly.

"All right then, you'll get to know me well enough before this is over." While saying this Caldor took her hand in his and gently rubbed his thumb along the palm of her hand. "Such soft hands, definitely noble."

Sharwyn yanked her hand out of his and glared at him. "You're a terrible flirt Caldor! What kind of a paladin are you?"

"Well I'm obviously not a normal one." He replied with a laugh.

'_Hm what is this I hear?'_ Caldor glanced behind him then gently pushed Sharwyn back against the wall.

"What are you doing Caldor?" Sharwyn asked with a small hint of fear.

He didn't answer her. He just places each of his hands on the brick wall on either side of her and pushed her closer against the wall.

Sharwyn was about to pull out her hidden dagger when Caldor placed a finger on her lips.

"Don't scream and stay your hand on that blade, lass. We are being watched." Caldor looked to the side and watched some dark shapes move quickly behind them.

He looked back at Sharwyn and leaned down to her ear.

"Just going to wait for them to make their first move."

"What? Why don't we attack them first?" Sharwyn whispered harshly.

"That would take out all the fun." Caldor smirked at her and she just rolled her eyes.

Caldor blew out the torch above them and waited in the darkness. Sharwyn stood up on her toes and looked over Caldor's shoulder trying to spot their attackers. The paladin smiled and let out a heavy sigh as he felt her lean up against him trying to get a better look. Soon a round bullet from a sling hit him in the back of the head.

"Oof, well they've made their move." He swung his fist at the human rushing toward them and hit him in the jaw. He unsheathed his sword and slashed downward at the human but the man reflected his attack with his hand axe. Caldor stomped one of the man's knees then stabbed him in the heart when he dropped his axe to grab his leg.

Sharwyn cast Sound burst on the slinger and he and the others around him were dazed. Caldor jumped over the dead human and swung upward at the group and sliced off the arm and shoulder of a dwarf.

The dwarf was instantly aware of what was going on around him and screamed in pain once before Caldor finished him off with a decapitating slice to the head. The two half-orcs and the human shook off the effects of the spell and jumped at the paladin. Sharwyn cast another spell and the slinger was hit by a jolt of electricity then fell to the ground, dead. She took out her two-bladed sword and slashed at the half-orc attacking Caldor from the rear. She cut a deep wound into his back and he screamed and turned to the side to deflect the second blade. Caldor dodged the attack of the other half-orc and hit him in the side with the hilt of his sword. The escapee fell to the side and rolled away from Caldor's great sword as he brought it down on him. Unfortunately he did not move in time to escape the second sweep from the paladin's blade.

Sharwyn deflected an attack from her escapee and hit him in the neck with the second blade of her weapon, cutting a deep wound into his neck. The half-breed grabbed his now bleeding neck and fell over, soon dead from loss of blood.

Caldor looked over the corpses and steadied his breathing. He looked over at Sharwyn who was brushing some of her hair out of her face.

"Nice job." Caldor said as he smiled at her then stooped down to pick up the gold dropped by the escapees.

"Thanks, you didn't do too bad yourself." Sharwyn sheathed her weapon and rotated her arm in its socket to loosen the muscles a bit.

"Right, let's keep moving." Caldor said as he walked toward an outdoor market sitting near the center of the district. Upon reaching the market they heard a yell for help off to the right.

Caldor turned to see saw an older looking man being attacked by some of the prison thugs. He ran over to the group and bowled them over with his shoulder. Sharwyn followed him and cast Sound burst. The thugs were instantly dazed and Caldor finished them off quickly.

"Are you all right sir?" Caldor asked the man as he cleaned off his blade.

"Yes, yes I am fine. Thank you for your help kind sir." The man said.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" Caldor asked.

"I was just heading back home from Lady Tanglebrook's house. I am very worried about her sir. With all of these criminals running about I fear for her safety but I dare not go back lest I be attacked once again by those hooligans."

"Well I'll go by Tanglebrook's and see if she is safe, you get back to the city core ok." Caldor told him.

"Thank you kind sir. Her estate is in the Northwestern part of the district near the prison's outer walls. There is a key under the doormat." With that the man ran off toward the gate.

"Okay let's go see how she is faring then." Sharwyn said as she turned towards the north.

Caldor followed her as she began running towards the estate. They quickly jogged through the district, jumping over fallen debris and the many corpses that littered the ground.

"Hm, before we go to this estate it might be a good idea to go see that Sedos Sebile character first." Caldor said.

"Yea, let's do that."

They ran in the direction that the house should be and found two guards standing on either side of a door.

"This must be it." Sharwyn said as she walked towards the door. She quickly noticed that Caldor was not moving and turned to him. "Come on Cal."

Caldor didn't make any move to follow and instead stared directly at the Helmite standing under a torch bracket. He frowned deeply at the man who in turn stared back then quickly looked down at the ground, avoiding his gaze.

"Caldor... come on. We have to go." She tugged at his arm and he finally began following her, his eyes not leaving the man.

Once inside the building, Caldor quickly scanned the room. He noticed the dark-haired woman standing behind the desk, shuffling through a stack of papers.

"Sedos Sebile?" Sharwyn asked.

The woman looked up at them both and nodded acknowledgement of their presence.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes...we were sent by Lady Aribeth to investigate the happenings in this district." Caldor said.

"Ah, they finally sent someone to help. So who might you two be?" Sedos asked.

"I'm Caldor Erion, Paladin of Helm and this lovely lady is Sharwyn." Caldor glanced down at Sharwyn and she glared at him.

"Well it is indeed a pleasure to meet you two. I'm guessing you will want a little information about what's going on. As you know the prisoners have escaped and caused a massive amount of trouble here in the Peninsula district. Some guards that had managed to escape from the prison alive informed us that it was the Head Gaoler that released them. Now the cause of this sudden show of madness is not known and I haven't sent anyone into the prison to investigate for obvious reasons. It would take a load off my shoulders if you two could go in there and find out what happened."

"Well that's what we came here for. When we find out what happened we'll come back and tell you, deal?"

Sedos smiled and reached out a hand, "Deal."

Caldor shook her hand firmly and turned to the door. "Let's go Sharwyn. We still need to go to the Tanglebrook estate."

Sharwyn followed him out the door and they quickly headed toward the estate.

Upon reaching the door, Caldor bent down and picked up the doormat to reveal the key. He picked it up and unlocked the door then pushed it open slowly. Peeking inside he searched the foyer for any sign of movement.

"Lady Tanglebrook? Are you here?" Caldor asked as he cautiously stepped into the room. Sharwyn searched the room as she stepped in behind him.

"I wonder where she is." Sharwyn murmured as she walked into the estate further. Caldor closed the door quietly and walked toward the door on the right. As he opened the door he found that it was only an empty bedroom. He stepped back into the foyer then walked forward to the open doorway at the back of the room.

He heard scraping noises in the corridor and took out his sword. Peeking around the wall he saw two giant beetles in front of a set of stairs leading down.

"Two nasty beetles at 9 o'clock, a stag beetle and a stink beetle." Caldor said.

Sharwyn nodded and took out her two-bladed sword.

Caldor watched her as she moved up beside him in the doorway then he rolled out into the corridor bringing his blade up to cut the stink beetle in half. The stag beetle screeched and jumped onto Caldor biting deeply into his arm.

"Agh! Gerroff!" He punched the beetle in the head trying to dislodge its mandibles from his arm.

Sharwyn slashed at the beetle's back, only to anger it. The beetle let go of Caldor and jumped onto her, biting deeply into her shoulder. She screamed and tried to kick the beetle off while stabbing it with her dagger. Caldor stood up and kicked the beetle sending it flying into the wall. The beetle recovered from the blow and leapt at Caldor. The paladin sent his fist up into the beetles head sending it straight into the air. Swinging his sword upward he separated the beetles head from the rest of its body. Once the beetle fell back to the ground it thrashed violently on the ground before it finally stopped and died.

Caldor looked over at Sharwyn and inspected the bite on her shoulder. It wasn't a very deep bite but blood flowed freely from it.

"Here let me help you with that." Caldor said as he helped Sharwyn to sit upright against the wall and pulled out a Healing kit. He cleaned off the wound and pressed a gauze bandage to her shoulder and held it in place.

"Thanks." Sharwyn said as she placed her hand over the gauze allowing Caldor to tend to his own wound.

"Damnable insects, I still wonder how those things got so big." Caldor grumbled as he cleaned and bandaged his bite.

"Probably some wizard." Sharwyn said with a smile.

"A gnome wizard most likely, knowing those inquisitive fellows I wouldn't doubt it." Caldor grinned and drank a healing potion. He passed another potion to Sharwyn and watched her as she drank it. Sharwyn lifted the gauze to inspect the wound and found it to be healing quickly.

"Well I'm ready to go when you are Caldor." She told him as she stood up.

"I'm ready." Caldor said as he stood up and put the remaining Healing kit back into his pack. He turned around and looked at the trapped up door behind them. "I wonder what's in there."

He walked toward it and inspected the door before placing his hand on the door knob.

"Um Caldor, you know that door is trapped right?" Sharwyn asked.

"Yep." Caldor opened the door quickly and jumped up as a multitude of spikes sprung up from the ground. The spikes quickly disappeared back underground and he let go of the doorframe to land back onto the ground.

Sharwyn stared at him with her jaw dropped a little. Caldor smirked and walked into the study and looked around. "Now let's see what we have in here."

He walked over to a bare desk on the other side of the room and opened the drawers. He saw a small green glass vial in the drawer and picked it up.

"What's that Caldor?" Sharwyn asked as she walked up behind him.

"Hm, says on the label that it's a Celestial Elixir." He heard Sharwyn gasp and moved the vial out of reach as she made a grab for it.

"Give me that Caldor!" She said as she tried to grab the vial.

Caldor held it above his head out of her reach and asked, "What is so special about this, Hm? Why do you need it?"

"None of your business Cal just give it to me." Sharwyn squealed as she jumped up to try to grab the Elixir. Caldor grabbed her by the waist with his free arm as she jumped and held her to the side away from the vial.

"Tell me what it is for." He said with a smile.

Sharwyn huffed and wiggled out of his grasp. "Fine if you must know I need it for my mother. She is ailing from some rare disease and that elixir will heal her."

Caldor inspected the elixir and raised an eyebrow. "This stuff looks rather pricey. Wouldn't your mother already have this, being a noble and all?"

"No... my mother is no longer a noble." Sharwyn looked down at the ground.

"Oh." Caldor handed the elixir to her and stared at the bard inquisitively, "How come?"

Sharwyn placed the vial into her pack and looked up at Caldor, "Now is not the time for stories Caldor."

"Okay then, how about after we are done here we head back to the City Core and you tell me your story over dinner, my treat." Caldor said with a smile.

Sharwyn smiled and shook her head. "Fine then you nosy thing. It's a date."

Caldor walked out of the room and headed toward the stairs leading down, picking up a dagger on a nearby weapon rack. He opened the door slowly and looked into the large room. Inside was a giant chess set with many large chess pieces littering the chess board. In the center he saw what looked to be a bleeding woman.

"Hm, that doesn't look good." Caldor walked toward the corpse weaving his way through the traps placed all over the board with Sharwyn close behind. Once he reached Tanglebrook's corpse he bent down to inspect her.

"There is a large hole on this side of her head and it looks like the brain was taken out." Caldor said as he lifted the corpse's head with his newfound dagger.

"Ugh that's horrible! What could have done something like this?" Sharwyn stared at the body in disgust.

"Well I doubt it was a prisoner, maybe it was that intellect devourer." He looked up across the room and saw a metal gate with a set of stairs leading up. On the catwalk leading to the door a group of fire beetles sat watching them.

Caldor stood up straight and took out the throwing axes he had picked up from one of the prisoners. Taking aim he threw an axe at each beetle, killing them instantly.

"Well let's see where that door leads." Sharwyn picked her way through the remaining traps with Caldor close behind.

The staircase turned out to be a back entrance to the prison. Caldor cracked the door and saw that there was no one in the room, "This must have been the Gaoler's office."

He walked over to the desk and searched the drawers but found nothing of interest. Sharwyn headed toward the door and pulled a nearby lever that opened the door. She peered outside and saw that no prisoners were around.

"C'mon Caldor let's check out the rest of the prison." She headed out the door and Caldor followed closely behind her.

The pair walked down the halls cautiously, one hand over their weapon at all times. The few prisoners that attacked them were dispatched quickly. While moving towards the rear end of the prison, they met up with a prison guard who was hiding in one of the prison cells.

"Were you the ones who released me?" the guard asked timidly.

"Indeed we are my good man. The prisoners locked you up in the cell I suspect." Caldor said calmly.

The guard nodded glumly and licked his lips, looking down the hall.

"Hm, get out of here then, we'll take care of everything here."

The guard nodded and ran toward the front door. Once the guard was out of sight the pair continued toward the door at the far end of the hall. Caldor opened the door slowly and looked around the barely lit room. Sharwyn peered over his shoulder and glanced at the two groups of prisoners. Taking out two scrolls of Fireball she cast one at the group nearest to them and another at the group at the other end of the room. Upon impact the prisoners were instantly killed by the spells.

"What the hell?" came a loud voice near the door at the center rear of the room. A burly looking human stepped out of the shadows and stared straight at the pair. Caldor stepped out of the doorway and took out his sword, flourishing it gracefully before smirking at the prisoner.

The man growled and took out his sword and charged Caldor. He managed to dodge the prisoner's attack and swung his sword hilt at the back of his head. The thug dodged his attack and slashed at Caldor's side making a shallow cut through his armor. Caldor winced and swung his knee around into the thug's back. The man teetered over and turned quickly bringing his sword up and cutting the side of Caldor's neck.

Caldor's hand flew instinctively to the fresh wound and he swung his sword around hitting the man hard in the shoulder. The man screamed and gripped his arm and Sharwyn took this moment to run the man through with her blade. Once the thug had finally dropped she stepped over the corpse and pulled Caldor's hand away from his neck.

"Here let me see. Hmm... the wound is shallow but deep enough to cause problems. Hold on." She turned to her pack to look for some bandages with one hand still covering the wound.

Caldor let a small smirk creep over his features as he leaned into her hand a little more. "It's feeling better already."

Sharwyn glanced up at him then glared at the paladin when she saw the smirk. "Oh stop." She pulled a bandage out and covered it with some salve and pressed it to the wound, lightly slapping his cheek once he put his hand over it to hold the bandage in place.

He smiled at her and looked at the cut in his side, "Hmm, it's not so bad." He took out a potion and drank it quickly and watched the small wound disappear. The cut on his neck was soon healed and he nodded towards the door.

The two went down the winding staircase quickly, hearing no other activity nearby. Once they reached the bottom, Caldor pulled the lever near the door and saw a ruffled looking elven guard down the short corridor. The elf looked over the pair quickly then motioned for them to follow him. Caldor and Sharwyn followed him quickly into the nearby lockdown and the elf pulled the lever to lock the door.

"Who are you two? Were you sent to see what happened here?"

"No, actually we were sent to find something else. What exactly has been going on in here anyway?" Caldor asked.

"Well if you haven't noticed all the prisoners aren't in their cells and that, of course, is the doing of the Head Gaoler Alaefin. He just suddenly went crazy and released all the prisoners. We guards didn't have a chance. We were either killed or locked up in the cells."

"Ah, what level of the prison is this anyway?"

"This is the containment level. Below is the Pits were the prisoners were pretty much left to their own devices. Alaefin is hiding down there now with his new right hand man Kurdan Fenkt, one of the meanest prisoners we've ever had."

"You mentioned that you and some of the other guards were locked up. How did you get out of your cell and where are the other guards?" Caldor asked.

"I managed to slip through the gates and snap the neck of the prisoner guarding me. As for the other prisoners, I'm not too sure. Some were taken below but either came back dead or in a zombie-like state." The elf shrugged and watched Caldor intently.

"It must be that intellect devourer." Sharwyn said as Caldor turned to her.

Caldor nodded and looked back at the elf, "Well we're going to head out and find out what the hell is happening down there. You stay up here."

"Will do." The elf saluted and hit the lever allowing Caldor and Sharwyn to leave the lockdown. They moved through the halls around the containment room quickly and killed any prisoner patrols they found walking about.

Sharwyn looked down the small corridors leading from the main halls and saw a prisoner sitting at the large desk in the center of the room. A few more prisoners milled about inside.

"A bunch of prisoners are waiting inside."

"All right then let's get ready to go." Caldor hefted his weapon and stepped into the room quickly. The prisoner sitting at the desk quickly stood up and smirked, "Ah, at last I got to use my magic once again." He began muttering a spell and the beginnings of a fireball formed between his hands.

"Uh oh." Caldor said then pulled Sharwyn to the side and covered her with his own body as the Fireball hit them.

"A spell caster...great." Caldor grumbled as he felt at his now singed hair.

"Heh, well it's a good thing I have some spells to fend off his magic." Sharwyn quickly cast Endure Elements on both of them.

"Thanks love." Caldor said with a grin as he turned from her and jumped at the sorcerer.

Sharwyn rolled her eyes and cast Sound burst at the group of prisoners in the corner, quickly killing them.

The sorcerer tried to cast Fireball at Caldor again but the spell had no affect and gave Caldor ample opportunity to crush the prisoner's skull with his sword hilt.

With the room now silent, Sharwyn brushed off her shoulders smiled at Caldor, "That was surprisingly easy."

"Heh, did they really stand a chance against us?" Caldor smirked and Sharwyn laughed.

"All right Paladin let's get going I'm really getting tired of this prison.

The companions ran through the final level of the prison, quickly dispatching any prisoners and their hounds. Soon they finally reached the final leg and stopped at a closed and trapped door. Sharwyn had decided to learn how to disable traps and quickly took apart the negative energy trap.

Caldor cracked open the door and peeked inside. A large half-orc was inside talking to an older looking human man.

"I think we've finally found Kurdan and Alaefin." He whispered to Sharwyn. She nodded and took out her weapon, waiting for his signal.

Alaefin walked into a door inside the room leaving Kurdan alone in the room. Caldor nodded toward the half-orc and the pair rushed into the room.

Kurdan looked at them in surprise but quickly regained his composure and brandished his weapon threateningly. Caldor brought his sword down into downward slash and Sharwyn swung one blade of her weapon towards Kurdan's side. The large prisoner twisted his double axe so that both attacks were easily blocked then jumped away from his attackers. Caldor came at him again this time swinging his sword upwards and from the side. This caught Kurdan at too awkward an angle to be blocked easily and he was knocked off balance.

Sharwyn jumped at the opportunity and caught Kurdan in the back. He keeled over a bit and Caldor slashed him across the stomach causing a deep gash.

"Argh, hold! I surrender!" Kurdan said as his hand flew to his abdomen.

Caldor let his weapon drop and leaned on it casually. Sharwyn relaxed and leaned the double-blade against her shoulder.

"So...you hunt da Head Gaoler, ya? You know what you face?" Kurdan asked.

"A man like any other though...he's most likely possessed by an intellect devourer."

"Ah ya, isn't a man no mo'. Must be possessed by yer intellect devourer."

"So what's he been doing with the guards, hm?" Caldor asked calmly.

"I dun know. Dey go in dere," Kurdan points to the door behind him, "And dey come out lookin' like zombies."

"Well that's all I need to know. Now, what should we do with you?" Caldor looked at the half-orc, "You're a dangerous criminal so we can't just let you go. Sorry but you have to die."

Kurdan sneered, "Fine den! But don't expect me ta sit here and die!"

Though badly injured the half-orc swung his double-axe at Caldor's head. The paladin ducked and ran Kurdan through with his sword than pushed the half-orc off his blade.

"Well let's go finish what we started." He walked towards the closed door and Sharwyn followed behind him quickly. Once inside Caldor noticed four former guards wandering around with blank looks on their faces. In the middle of the room near a covered work table stood Alaefin. Noticing the pair inside his lair, he took out a halberd and rushed toward them.

"I'll take care of Alaefin! You get those guards to get out of this room!" He said to Sharwyn as he ran toward Alaefin. Sharwyn ran toward the nearest guard and started trying to talk him into leaving.

Caldor blocked Alaefin's attack and pushed his blade to the side, kicking his legs out from under him. The man hit the ground hard then rolled to the side as Caldor brought his weapon sword down to his face. He pushed himself off the ground quickly and swung his weapon at Caldor's side but missed as the paladin dodged to the side. Caldor slashed at Alaefin's arm cutting it off. He hissed at the paladin as his limb and the halberd fell to the ground. Caldor brought his sword around again and separated the man's torso from his legs. The body then quickly dissipated and an ugly little brain with legs appeared and began to cast an invisibility spell.

Sharwyn had finished persuading the guards to leave and rushed to Caldor's side. She grimaced as she looked at the small creature. "How repulsive."

"No time to be grossed out now, we have to kill it." Caldor said as he tried to stomp the dog-like monster. The devourer jumped out of the way and tried casting a Daze spell on Caldor. The paladin managed to resist it and swung his sword at the creature but missed as it jumped away again. It then tried casting Invisibility on itself and vanished from the pair's sight.

Caldor frowned and looked around the room. Sharwyn took out a couple scrolls of True Seeing and cast it on herself then onto Caldor.

The creature had thought it was safe and was preparing to cast Daze again when Caldor's foot came down on it. The devourer managed to dodge and seeing that all of its attempts were futile it decided to run away.

"Come back here you little bastard!" Caldor chased the creature around the room trying desperately to stomp it and yelling obscenities as it ran away. Sharwyn couldn't help but laugh at his attempts as he and the Devourer passed by her for a third time.

"Hey you could help me out here instead of giggling you know." Caldor shouted back at her.

"Heh heh, but you look so ridiculous chasing that thing around." She laughed.

Caldor roared in frustration as he brought his sword down onto the Devourer's back, splitting it in half.

"Finally!" he dislodged the brain from the rest of the body and placed it into a bag.

"Now we can finally get out of here." Caldor said triumphantly.

"Good because I really need a bath." Sharwyn said.

"You and me both." Caldor wrinkled his nose and cleaned his sword off.

The pair quickly ran through the prison halls, jumping over prisoner corpses and sliding along slippery floors. Once outside the prison they headed back to Sedos's headquarters.

The woman looked up at the two as they entered the room and held her arms open wide.

"Ah, you're back. I assume you found out what was going on."

"Indeed. It was an Intellect Devourer that had possessed Alaefin." Caldor said as he held up the bag with the Devourer's brain.

"Wait isn't that one of the creatures that was taken to the academy? Well that explains a lot as the prisoners were released not long after the academy was attacked. Interesting, well here is 200 gold for your efforts." Sedos said as she handed a small bag to him.

"Many thanks, m'lady. Well we better get this back to Aribeth. Good fortune to you." Caldor pulled out the recall stone and activated it. The two soon vanished from the room.

Sedos blinked in surprise and stared at the spot where the paladin and bard were just standing. She quickly shook her head and went back to the papers on her desk.

Once back in the Halls of Justice, Caldor quickly walked down the stairs and towards Aribeth.

"Here is the Intellect Devourer's brain m'lady." Caldor handed the bag to Aribeth and adjusted the shoulder strap of his pack.

"Well done Caldor! You're well on your way to finding all the ingredients. Now who might this be?" she said nodding in Sharwyn's direction.

"I'm Sharwyn, just a simple bard m'lady." She did a slight curtsy and tried to stand up straight though she was quite tired.

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you." Aribeth smiled at Sharwyn then looked back at Caldor who was staring at Sharwyn.

She cleared her throat and Caldor looked at her quickly, "Err yea, well we've had quite a day and I think we should find a place to rest and get something to eat."

"The inns are probably still full so let's go see my mother." Sharwyn offered.

"That sounds like a good idea, let's do that." Caldor bowed to Aribeth before turning toward the door. Sharwyn rushed to his side and looped her arm with his, smiling up at him.

Fenthick came out from the back room and watched the pair leave.

"Well isn't that interesting." He said with a smile.

"I was wondering how long it would take before someone noticed him around." Aribeth laughed and wrapped an arm around Fenthick.

Fenthick just laughed and looked at Aribeth lovingly. "Soon...soon this will all be over."

"Yes, then we can get back to planning our wedding." Aribeth said with a smile.

"So what district does your mother live in?" Caldor asked as they made their way through the City Core.

"She is staying in a house near the gate to the Blacklake District."

Caldor nodded and followed Sharwyn in the direction of the Blacklake gate.

Sharwyn stopped at a splintering oak door and reached out to knock at the door but stopped.

"Sharwyn?" Caldor stepped up to the door and looked at her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine...it's just that when I had come to see her previously when I first arrived here she was so angry with me. I don't really know if I want to go in there again."

"Oh...you never did tell me what happened to your mother." Caldor said calmly.

"That's true; we were going to discuss that over dinner weren't we?"

"Yes, but it wouldn't hurt to tell me now would it. You'll still get your free meal of course."

"I might as well then. My mother used to be a mage adventurer. I never met my birth father. She left the adventurers life and my father to marry a man of wealth."

"Why'd she do that?"

"She never discussed it with me so I do not know, though, I do know she wanted to live the life of the wealthy. Marrying my stepfather was the easiest way to do it. She forgot her craft and spent her time spending money. She spent a lot more than my stepfather could afford and ignored his complaints. When my step-father died unexpectedly she was distraught, not because he died but because there was a mountain of debts left from her numerous shopping sprees."

"What about you? How did you feel when he died?"

"I didn't know him honestly. I was always going to one private school to the next. Anyway, since she was on the verge of being poor she came up with a plan to pay the debts and still be able to live the life of luxury. She decided to marry me off to a rich bachelor, Lord Farthingdon. Since I was such a comely young woman hooking the young Lord wouldn't be difficult despite being considered 'poor nobility'."

"I went to a ball being held by Farthingdon and was to meet him there. When I went onto the dance floor and met the young man my mother pointed out to me, I quickly fell in love with him. He was so handsome and witty I couldn't help myself. Not long later my mother pulled me away and told me that was not Farthingdon I was dancing with. Too late for my heart though."

"I take it your mother wasn't too happy about that." Caldor said as he leaned against the wall of the building.

"Oh she was furious. I never got to meet Lord Farthingdon and she was even more upset when she found out that it was a penniless bard named Dannen in service to Farthingdon that I had fallen in love with. My mother told me to forget about him and to focus on what I needed to do but I couldn't help myself. I was torn. Do I do as my mother wished or run away with the penniless bard? Being a young fool I made quite a mess of things."

"That's understandable. So what did you do?"

"Well I did neither so I ended up seducing Farthingdon and loving my bard in secret. Dannen was kind and loving; enchanting me with his music and Farthingdon was just lustful and possessive."

"That definitely couldn't have gone on long." Caldor said with a grimace.

"Of course not, it was going to blow up eventually. When it came nearer to the date of the marriage Farthingdon began to notice that something was not right. My mother did all she could to convince the lord that I was true to him, and it was she that discovered Dannen and I together. She had guards chase him away, though they didn't manage to kill him.

My mother then forbade me to see him again but I would hear none of it. She begged me not to forsake her to poverty. I struggled with the decision, should I run away with Dannen or marry Farthingdon? Life of the wealthy frightened me so I chose Dannen.

Lord Farthingdon was not at all happy and tried to have us both executed so Dannen and I fled Neverwinter. My mother was devastated. She was turned out of the noble society and lost everything in trying to pay back my stepfather's debts. I left with Dannen and learned the trade of the bard as we traveled around Faerun. When I came back here and visited her for a short time, I learned that she was dieing from the disease bonerot before she cast me out of her home. Thankfully you found this potion and I can heal her."

"Why would you want to heal her?" Caldor asked without thinking and quickly winced.

"I don't know honestly. I don't feel that I need her forgiveness or anything but she is my mother after all." Sharwyn said calmly.

Caldor put a hand on her shoulder and lightly squeezed. "Well then, we should get this potion to her."

Sharwyn smiled at him and placed her hand on his, "Yes we should." She put her hand up to the door and knocked sharply.

"Who is it?" Answered a hoarse voice from inside the house.

"It's me mother. I've found the cure for you." Sharwyn replied loudly.

"Oh leave me be! Let me die and finally get away from this pathetic existence."

"No mother! Not like this, open the door!" Sharwyn said.

"Go away!" the woman answered harshly.

Sharwyn twisted the doorknob but found that it was locked. She looked up at Caldor pleadingly and he nodded. He quickly removed the wedges from the door hinges and picked the door up, gently shaking the sliding bolt out of the door.

The woman inside watched in quiet shock as the tall man removed the door and moved it aside to allow the young bard to pass. Once Sharwyn was inside, Caldor set the door back in place and placed the wedges back into the hinges. He moved over to the woman and stood behind Sharwyn.

"Here you go mother, I won't leave until you drink it. The disease should clear up soon with this." Sharwyn handed her mother a cup with the Elixir. She stepped towards Caldor and he placed an arm around her shoulders smiling broadly at the woman.

Sharwyn's mother sipped gingerly at the cup, her eyes never leaving Caldor's. Once the elixir was gone she looked straight at her daughter. "Why did you come back? Why do you care if I live or die?"

"Because you are my mother, the past is irrelevant." Sharwyn replied.

The woman shook her head and looked up at Caldor. "What happened to that bard you ran away with and who is this young man? A fiancée I hope."

Sharwyn's eyes opened wide in shock and Caldor merely grinned. "NO! Where did you get that idea?"

"Just wondering since you seem to be quite comfortable with his arms around you and all, " Sharwyn pushed Caldor away and he merely snickered, "Hm, from the look in his eyes I would say that he wouldn't mind such an arrangement."

Caldor opened his mouth to speak but Sharwyn quickly elbowed him in the gut. "No mother, we are just friends." She glared at Caldor who merely laughed.

"Unfortunately, that is indeed true m'lady. I am Caldor Erion, paladin in the service of Helm."

"It is pleasure to meet you Sir Erion. If my daughter hasn't already told you, my name is Marise." She told him.

Sharwyn allowed herself to smile a little as the physical effects of bonerot were beginning to disappear.

Marise rocked in her chair a short time before gesturing to the seats in front of her. "Why don't you two sit down? You look dreadfully tired." Both nodded and quickly sat down in the sofa opposite her.

"Now then, was giving me the elixir the only reason you came here or is there something else?"

Caldor looked at Sharwyn who merely rubbed her arm. "Well I was wondering if you would let us stay here for the evening as all the inns are pretty much full." She looked her mother directly in the eyes as she waited for an answer.

Marise stared at her daughter then looked to Caldor who merely sat staring at the floor. "I suppose...it wouldn't hurt to let you stay tonight. Though I only have one room so you two would have to stay in the living area."

"That sounds good." Caldor mumbled then looked over to Sharwyn.

"Yes, thank you mother."

Caldor reached into his pack, pulled out 200 gold pieces and placed it on the table in front of Marise, "For letting us stay and a bit extra for you." He said with a smile.

Marise speechlessly stared at the gold. "I...I thank you m'lord."

Sharwyn smiled at him and gently nudged him in the side. He merely smiled.

"Is there somewhere we could wash up mother?" Sharwyn asked.

Marise looked up at her daughter and nodded, "Yes, go back into the kitchen and there is a door next to the stove. A wash room is back there with a tub, an old working fountain and fireplace with a pot to boil water in," Marise stood up and stretched her back muscles, "I'll go make supper while you two wash up." With that she shuffled into the kitchen.

"All right then, let's go." Sharwyn stood up, shouldered her pack, and grabbed Caldor's hand. "Wha...!"

She dragged him towards the washroom and he quickly grabbed his pack from off the floor.

Marise turned from the cupboard in time to see Sharwyn drag Caldor into the washroom and shut the door. "Hm."

Sharwyn dropped her pack by the door and tossed some logs into the fireplace, igniting them with the flick of her wrist. Caldor dropped his pack next to hers and walked over to a door in the side of the room. Inside he found some towels and a screen. He pulled the screen out and set it up near the tub then placed a couple towels and small cloths on a stool next to the tub.

Sharwyn had finally gotten the fire at a good blaze and nudged the filled pot over the flames. "There we go." She sat down cross-legged by the fireplace and looked through her pack, quickly finding her journal.

Caldor watched her for a moment before he began to unclasp his armor and set it aside. His tan colored shirt caught in the chain breastplate as he tried to take it off and he struggled with it a moment before finally getting it off, undershirt and all. Sharwyn glanced up at him and caught sight of the dragon tattoo on his chest.

"Nice tattoo you have there."

Caldor looked at her and smiled. "Thanks, it's kind of like a visual representation of my nickname which is 'wingless dragon'. In elvish it would be Raamanerloki.

"I see." Sharwyn watched him as he separated his shirt from the chain breastplate and inspected the damage made by the thug in the prison. The small room was quickly heating up with no visible source of ventilation. Sharwyn wiped sweat from her brow and she quickly looked back down at her journal.

Caldor barely noticed the heat since he had long since built up a resistance against fire. When he saw that Sharwyn was sweating heavily and squirming uncomfortably in the leather armor he began to laugh.

"You okay over there love?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes, I'm fine. And stop calling me love." Sharwyn told him irritably.

Caldor smiled and stood up. He walked over to the semi-boiling water and removed the pot from over the fire. "It's a little too warm in here for a hot bath, don't you agree."

Sharwyn looked up at him and nodded.

He poured the water into the tub and filled the rest with the water from the fountain. He swirled his hand around in the water and smiled. Picking up the bar of soap, he threw it into the air and bounced it off his knees and shins before holding it out to Sharwyn.

"Ladies first." Sharwyn took the soap from him and walked over to the tub, moving the screen so that she could have some amount of privacy.

Caldor sat down next to the fireplace and flicked at the pages of her journal.

"Don't you dare read that Caldor!" Sharwyn warned from behind the screen.

"Bah, I'm not that nosy m'lady." Caldor flipped the book closed and stretched out on the ground.

He stared up at the ceiling, tracing the numerous cracks with his eyes. Soon becoming bored, he closed his eyes and tried to imagine his home in the Spine of the World. Thoughts of his childhood spent playing with his draconic cousins and his time as an adolescent spent hunting the Red Dragons with his clan swam around in his head. He let out a contented sigh and slipped into a light sleep. It only seemed a few minutes before he felt a gentle nudge in his side.

Caldor opened his eyes slowly and looked up at Sharwyn. Her still wet hair glistened in the firelight and her blue clothing stuck slightly to her still wet body.

'_Gods she's beautiful.' _He thought as he stood up.

Sharwyn handed him the soap and sat down where he was lying before and picked up her journal. She took out her quill, dipped it in the inkbottle and continued where she left off.

"It's nice in there isn't?" She asked Caldor without looking up from her journal.

"Oh yes." Caldor replied as he slipped underwater. "It's nice to finally clean off after spending the whole day messing around with those smelly prisoners. I mean damn! Didn't they ever take showers in there?" Caldor exclaimed.

"Maybe you should complain to Lord Nasher about it." She laughed. A derisive snort was heard from the other side of the screen.

"That's another thing; I haven't seen this Lord Nasher. Where is he hiding anyway?" Caldor asked.

"Last I heard, he was holed up in Never Castle supposedly suffering from early signs of the plague."

"Oh, well that doesn't sound good at all. That only means we're going to have to double our efforts then." There was another splash and the grey clothes hanging over the top of the screen disappeared. Caldor appeared moments later, still drying his wet hair.

"Ah, much better." He said with a smile as he poured some more water in a pot and placed it over the fire. Once the water started boiling he pulled the pot from the flames and tossed his clothes and the towels in with a bit of soap.

"You want to wash yours too m'lady?"

"Yes." Sharwyn stood up and dropped her clothes into the pot and Caldor set to stirring the clothes with a large wooden paddle.

"So tell me about your clan in the Spine of the World."

Caldor glanced at her then looked back at the pot, a slow smile forming on his face. "Yes my home. As I said before my parents live there with my draconic cousins. My mother was originally a druid that would occasionally wander into the forest below the mountains. That's where she met my father. Anyway, um... my clan is full of a lot of tricksters. My grandfather had built the caves into a sprawling maze where we would catch any foolish adventurers hoping to walk away with some of our hoard. As a youth I remember spending time walking along the roof of the caves and whispering to the adventurers. Heh, they would freak out and start yelling into the path before them but they never thought to look up. Ah those were the days."

"Wait a minute; did you just say you walked along the ceiling?" Sharwyn looked up at him in surprise.

"Indeed m'lady. After all, Copper Dragons are known for the Spider walk. That is one trait that I thankfully inherited. It saved my rear end from countless potential deaths mind you. Now where was I? Yes, tricking the adventurers was a fun pastime. We rarely killed them though. Mostly we'd lead them into going back to the exit then block the cave entrance with a ward spell. Only if the adventurer was a particularly evil and cunning one did he meet the inside of one of my cousin's belly. Whenever we had a bard come by, he was always led away from his group into the common where we would hear his tales, jokes and then feed him more stories for the writing of his own ballads and such. Of course not every bard got that privilege."

Caldor stopped and dumped the water out of the pot. Sharwyn picked up her clothes and wrung them out hanging them over the screen to dry then sat back down. Caldor did the same then sat down in front of her.

Sharwyn nodded at him to continue. "Unfortunately, life wasn't always fun and games. A good portion of the time the clan fought with our enemies the Red Dragons. By the time I was 90 years old I had helped to bring down two adult red dragons. Nasty business that was." Caldor sighed and looked up at the ceiling, "I miss my clan...I never was much of a city person."

"Well after this is all over with you can go home."

"For some reason I doubt that. I don't know but I have a feeling that something really bad is going to happen." Caldor mumbled.

"Pfft, you're just being silly Caldor."

"Sharwyn! Caldor! Supper is ready." Marise's voice called to them from the kitchen.

"Finally! Come Caldor, time to put something in our bellies." Sharwyn led the way out of the washroom with Caldor close behind.


	3. Chapter 2

Author's note: Hehe I was thinking of skipping some of the districts anyway (Beggar's Nest and probably the Docks). I had a feeling I was writing too much into what happened so definitely going to skip a good portion of that stuff in this chapter.

Caldor leaned back heavily against the closed gate of the Beggar's Nest. His eyes were closed and he traced his finger along the golden symbol of Helm on his breastplate while praying silently. Sharwyn was leaning on the wall next to him, staring up at the sky. She looked over at Caldor and watched him for a moment before reaching out and pushing back few stray strands of hair.

He opened his eyes and looked at her with a smile. Standing upright, he stretched and pulled out the small bag containing the Yuan Ti's heart.

"Man I hate the undead." He grumbled before stepping forward in the direction of the Hall of Justice.

"Well at least we weren't in there long. I have to admit, the fight with the Yuan Ti was quite funny." Sharwyn said as she caught up to him.

Caldor smirked a little, "I guess but at least she didn't get too far when she tried to bolt."

"With those fast reflexes and iron grip of yours, she'd have to be extremely lucky if she had made it to the door."

"Hm, well I'd had enough and there was going to be no time for foolishness." Caldor replied calmly as he opened the door of the Hall.

The Hall seemed darker than usual and a lot more of the sick had made their way to the nurses. The freshly dead littered the cots set up around the main room and the smell was far from pleasant.

Sharwyn sighed and shook her head, "I hope we can find those last two ingredients quickly."

"So do I." Caldor said quietly. He turned his attention away from the bodies and instead searched the room for Aribeth. He spotted her on the other side of the room covering up one of the deceased. She stood up and looked back at them.

"You have returned! Do you have another of the ingredients?" Aribeth asked.

"Yes we do m'lady. Found in the Beggar's Nest which was swarming with the undead. They have now gone back to their graves with the Yuan Ti dead." He handed the pouch over to her.

"Well done! Here is 500 gold." She handed him a small pouch of gold.

"Also, m'lady, we found this note on a group of assassins." Sharwyn handed the slightly bloodied parchment to the paladin and she scanned it quickly.

"I see, take this to Fenthick. He will want to see this."

Sharwyn took the note back and followed Caldor to the Sanctuary.

Inside Fenthick and Desther stood together in the middle of the room conversing in low tones. Upon Caldor and Sharwyn's entrance the pair turned toward the door. Desther's face fell as the paladin walked up to them.

Caldor regarded him coldly and watched him silently as Sharwyn handed the note to Fenthick.

"We found this note on a member of a small group of assassins that attacked us in the Beggar's Nest."

Fenthick quickly read the note and stared at it in surprise, "So our suspicions were true. Thank you for bringing this to me, here is some gold for your trouble. Sir Erion?"

Caldor looked at him, "Yes?"

"I wish you luck on your search for the remaining ingredients." Fenthick said with a bow.

Caldor nodded and glanced back at Desther. The human was staring at Sharwyn who was searching for her journal in her pack. His covetous gaze enraged Caldor and he pushed the cleric back none to gently.

"Keep your filthy eyes in your skull worm!" He roared at Desther.

Sharwyn and Fenthick looked at Caldor in shock. Desther stepped back further from the paladin. The nurses around the room stared at the group in the middle and Aribeth peered into the room from the doorway.

Caldor quickly turned away from the cleric and placed a hand on Sharwyn's shoulder.

"Let's get going." The bard glanced at him then turned and walked toward the door. Caldor looked back at Desther one final time before disappearing back into the Hall of Justice.

Aribeth gave Desther a reproachful glare and he merely sneered.

Outside of the Hall, Sharwyn turned and stopped Caldor in his tracks.

"What was that all about?"

Caldor blinked then looked down at the ground, "I didn't like the way he was staring at you." He answered honestly.

"Oh." The thought of the man's eyes on her made her shudder. "Well you didn't have to do that."

"I... I know. I just reacted before thinking."

Sharwyn smiled and hugged his arm, "It's okay, I'm just glad you didn't gouge his eyes out instead."

Caldor smirked at that thought.

"Come on, we have to find the next ingredient. Where to?"

"We should head over to the Docks district next but let's stop and get something to eat first." Caldor replied.

"Food huh? Well we could go to the Moonstone Mask. That's the only other place open that won't be packed from wall to wall." Sharwyn said.

"Err, why do I get the feeling that this is the last place that I would want to be in?" Caldor asked Sharwyn as he followed her down the ramp and towards the building.

"Well it is a brothel and with your good looks you should be swarmed as soon as we walk in." Sharwyn told him with a smirk. She heard a small groan and laughed.

"Don't worry paladin, I'll protect you."

"I should say the same about you." Caldor mumbled as he followed her into the Moonstone Mask.

As soon as they walked in, they were greeted by the Matron of the brothel. "Greetings and welcome to the Moonstone Mask. How may we be of service to you?"

"Just a meal and some drinks." Sharwyn answered.

The Matron looked over at Caldor who was silently surveying the room. "Will there be any other of the Mask's offerings that you or your handsome companion would like to make use of?"

"No that will be all." Sharwyn said as she grabbed Caldor by the arm.

"Alright, just go over to one of the booths over there and a waitress will be there soon."

The bard dragged Caldor toward the booth and sat down in the seat opposite his. Caldor sat down and stared at the table, studying the lines of the wood grain. Sharwyn watched him curiously. His eyes closed for a brief moment then he looked up at her with half lidded eyes.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing..." he trailed off and looked around the commons of the brothel, "I'm just a little tired. Plus these places make me uncomfortable."

"Because you're a paladin."

"Not that it's just... never mind."

Sharwyn watched him for a moment then looked around the room.

Soon a barmaid came to their table and smiled at them. "What can I get you two today?"

Caldor glanced at her quickly then looked down at the table. The girl was wearing a low cut top with a blue short skirt. "Bring a whole bottle of Elven Wine. What's on the menu?"

The girl looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully and started listing the entrees for him. He stopped her and ordered the pot roast meal.

"And what will you have m'lady?" she asked as she turned to Sharwyn.

"Same."

"Alright then, I'll be right back with your drinks." The girl quickly scurried off to the bar and soon came back with a couple wine glasses and a fresh bottle of Elven wine.

Caldor poured himself a full glass and downed it quickly before refilling his glass again.

"What in the hells are you doing?" Sharwyn asked as he gulped down his third glass of wine.

"What? This is my favorite." He said as he started to pour another glassful. Sharwyn grabbed the bottle and moved it out of his reach.

"Honestly! What is the matter with you?" Caldor avoided her eyes and tapped the table top. "Dealing with the undead drives me to drink." He lied as he glanced around the room, and then looked up at the ceiling.

'_He's definitely anxious about something._' She thought. Sharwyn reached out and put a hand over his. He looked down at her hand than up at her eyes.

"What's the matter?"

"I...It's nothing. I just..." He stopped talking and looked down at her hands. How he wished.

"You seriously need to get laid." Caldor jerked up and looked at her in shock.

"What?!"

Sharwyn merely smirked, "I have a good feeling about what's bothering you. Of course it's understandable considering where we are." She smiled at him.

Caldor's brow furrowed and he moved his hand from under hers and folded his arms across his chest.

"I noticed how quickly you looked away from that barmaid." Sharwyn said with a chuckle, "Getting warm down below?"

Caldor's face turned cherry red but he shook his head, saying nothing.

"Hm...oh." Sharwyn tapped her chin thoughtfully and finally shook her head.

For the first time in his life he wished that he had never become a paladin. He would've jumped over the table by now. Caldor took in deep breath and tried to calm himself. He tapped the side of his wine glass and looked up at the bard pleadingly.

"No. Alcohol will just worsen the situation." Sharwyn said flatly as she sipped at her wine slowly.

Caldor cursed under his breath and stared at his hands. '_Gods I hate these places...it smells odd in here."_ He sniffed at the air and looked towards the torch brackets. There was something odd burning in them. Perhaps some strange herbs were burning in them. That would explain a lot.

Sharwyn watched him for a moment. '_I wonder...maybe we should...no that wouldn't be proper at all. We're just friends...just friends.' _Now she was feeling a little of that anxiety. Damn it all!

The barmaid seemed to appear out of nowhere happily balancing two plates of food on one arm. "Here you go!" she said as she placed the food down on the table. Caldor looked at her and she winked at him.

Sharwyn almost laughed out loud at the look on his face. "Eat up Caldor." She said while trying not to laugh. "We need to get you out of here."

The pair ate in silence, Sharwyn finally giving him a little wine to drink with his meal. The barmaid came back to take their empty plates and Caldor paid for their meals, making sure not to look at the girl. They drank the remaining Elven Wine quietly.

"Something odd is burning in the wall sconces." Caldor mentioned.

"Hm?"

"Some kind of herb that, I think, heightens the senses or something."

"Well that would explain why I'm... I mean why you're acting so oddly." Sharwyn said quickly.

Caldor watched her drink the remaining bit of her wine then stood up. He stretched his arms and looked around the room. Sharwyn looked up and watched him as he turned and walked around the table to sit next to her. '_Uh oh.'_ He wrapped an arm around her waist and laid his head on her shoulder. The bard ran her fingers through his hair a bit and he sighed.

"Ugh, I'm so tired. I'll be glad when this is all over with."

"You and me both." Sharwyn replied quietly.

Caldor paused in thought for a moment then tilted his head up and gently kissed her neck. Sharwyn instantly froze. He didn't notice and continued planting small kisses on her neck and shoulders.

'_Oh no! I should definitely tell him to stop...yet... it feels so nice._' It had been a while and hell... Caldor was definitely a prime choice. Though, as much as she wanted it to continue, she had to stop it, "Caldor."

The paladin quickly stopped and slowly leaned away from her, looking very ashamed. "I... I'm very sorry m'lady. Err."

'_Ah, what the hell it won't hurt anyone._' She thought to herself.

Caldor was staring at the table, silently berating himself, when Sharwyn tilted his head up to look at her. "Why'd you stop?"

He looked at her in total shock and was about to say something when her lips pressed against his. Caldor stiffened but soon relaxed and he pulled her closer. Everything seemed to disappear as he held her in arms. It felt like he had died and gone to the heavenly planes. His mouth moved away from hers and down to her neck again.

Sharwyn smiled and began nibbling on his ear. He laughed and looked up at her, kissing her cheek and grinning broadly.

"Feeling better?" she whispered to him.

"A little." He whispered back. Caldor reached up and caressed her cheek and was about to kiss her again when he felt a gentle tapping on his shoulder.

He turned slowly and looked up at the Matron who smiled down at them mischievously.

"My my. I never thought I'd live to see the day when a paladin would act in such a manner. You know...we do rent out rooms too if you two would like."

"Ah, no thank you m'lady. It was just a little too much wine. Um, we should, uh, get going." He let go of Sharwyn and quickly stood up, his face bright red. Sharwyn scooted out of the booth and quickly walked towards the door glaring at the Matron mother as she went. Caldor was close behind.

"Ahem, I'm sorry about that Sharwyn. I should have better control over myself." Caldor apologized once they were outside.

The bard shook her head and smiled, "It's alright Cal. We should just head back to my mother's house and try to get some sleep."

While walking towards Marise's house the pair noticed Aribeth and Fenthick heading in their direction. They were talking to each other quietly and were startled when they saw Sharwyn and Caldor.

"Oh, hello there you two." Fenthick said cheerily.

"Hello Fenthick, Lady Aribeth." Caldor said with a smile.

Aribeth stared at him for a moment then grinned. "Um Caldor." She pointed to her mouth and Caldor stared at her for a moment then quickly wiped his mouth. A faint blush rose on his cheeks.

Aribeth giggled, "What were you two doing?" Fenthick snickered as he looked at Caldor's face.

"Ah, just a little too much wine you know." Sharwyn replied with a nervous laugh.

Fenthick winked at Caldor who grinned broadly.

"You two out for a stroll alone I see. I would've half expected Desther to be hanging off Fenthick's arm right now."

Aribeth frowned a little and shook her head. "No, I made it quite clear to him that I wanted to be alone with Fenthick tonight."

Caldor smiled and nodded, "Good. Well since you two are out and about how about we go find a tavern and get to know each other better." Sharwyn stared daggers at him and he cringed a bit, "Of course I'll be skipping the alcohol."

Aribeth and Fenthick broke into a fit of giggles and Caldor shrugged at Sharwyn who tried desperately to keep a straight face.

"Sounds like a plan to me. There is a nice little tavern over by the gates to the peninsula district called Joker's Junction. Hopefully it won't be too full." Fenthick offered.

Everyone nodded and followed him to the tavern. Upon entering, the group quickly made their way through the crowds and found a booth near the back to sit. A barmaid came by, took their orders then disappeared into the crowd.

"So...tell us what happened to you guys." Fenthick smirked as Caldor and Sharwyn's faces fell.

"I refuse!" Caldor crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the pair.

Sharwyn shook her head at them, "No...it was just an alcohol induced accident. Nothing more."

Caldor gave her a sideways glance but said nothing.

"Oh come on, it won't hurt to tell. It's not like we're going to judge you or anything." Aribeth said with a smile.

Sharwyn sighed then shrugged, "Well I guess...see it started when we went to the Moonstone Mask to get something to eat..."

Caldor swung the bag with the Cockatrice feathers cheerily as he whistled a tune. Sharwyn rummaged around in her bag until she found her journal.

"Let's stop for a moment Cal. I want to write something down real fast."

Caldor nodded and leaned against a nearby wall. The bard sat down on a crate next to him and began taking down notes.

"What are you going to do when this is all over with Sharwyn?" Caldor asked as he took out a feather and inspected it.

"Actually I have something that I need to look into...but it can wait." Sharwyn answered.

"Oh? What is it?"

"None of your business." Sharwyn answered quickly.

Caldor stared her curiously then shrugged. "Fair enough." He put the feather back into the pouch and put it back into his bag.

Sharwyn stood up and put her journal back in her bag, "Okay let's go."

Aribeth was happy to see them when they presented the feathers to her and she hugged them both tightly. "We're well on our way now thanks to you two. Here is your gold."

Caldor took out another crumpled letter and waved it front of her before walking to the sanitarium where Fenthick was. Sharwyn moved to follow him but Aribeth grabbed her by the arm.

"Hm?"

"I was just wondering. Has Caldor said anything about Desther?" Aribeth asked.

"Well he keeps telling me that Desther and his Helmites are all fakes and he doesn't trust the lot of 'em. Why?"

"Well as you know, I have no love for the man and I really don't like how much he is always around Fenthick. Always talking to him and telling him how he thinks I'm not doing my duty and such."

"You're not alone my friend. What does Fenthick think of him?" Sharwyn asked.

"Well he still thinks that he is a good man but he's really starting to doubt him now with all the accusations he's spouting about me, you and Caldor."

Sharwyn shook her head, "Hopefully when this is over Desther will finally leave and..."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU LITTLE BASTARD?" Caldor roared.

Sharwyn and Aribeth quickly ran into the room and caught sight of Caldor lifting Desther in the air by his neck and his other hand pulled back and clenched into a tight fist. Fenthick grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back. "Let him go Caldor!"

"Let my arm go Fenthick! He needs to be taught a lesson by a true Helmite." Caldor growled as he tried to wrest his arm out of Fenthick's grasp.

Sharwyn ran up to him and gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Put him down Cal, he's not worth it."

Caldor ignored her protest and lifted his arm, trying to shake Fenthick loose. The elven cleric was now hanging a few centimeters from the ground but he was determined to stop the paladin.

"In Tyr's name that man is strong!" Aribeth said to Sharwyn who merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Only when he gets very angry."

"Come on my friend. You don't want to hit him." Fenthick told Caldor.

"Oh yes I do. Just let go for a second so I can cave his face in!"

"Put him down Caldor. A paladin should show more restraint over his emotions." Aribeth lectured. As much she would like to see the man beaten into submission she couldn't allow it to happen in Tyr's Hall.

Caldor looked at her, then Fenthick and finally Sharwyn. With his jaw set in anger, he looked up at Desther who was turning blue in the face. Finally his grip loosened and he dropped the man on the ground.

Desther coughed and crawled away from the room quickly. Caldor lowered his arm and set Fenthick back onto the ground. He looked away and clenched his jaw. Sharwyn patted him on the back and wrapped an arm around him, "Calm down now. Take deep breaths now. Good."

Aribeth walked over to Fenthick and whispered into his ear, "What was it like being suspended in the air like that."

The cleric looked at her curiously, "One word: frightening."

Aribeth held back a laugh and hugged him, "You're lucky that you two are friends."

Fenthick nodded and looked at the door that Desther had disappeared into. "I should go check on him." He moved towards it but Aribeth held him back. "He'll live, it will teach him not to mouth off like that in front of Caldor."

"How can you say that?" Fenthick asked her in surprise.

"It's true and you know it." Aribeth told him. Fenthick looked at her thoughtfully then shrugged.

Sharwyn shook her head and grabbed Caldor's chin, "What did I tell you about trying to destroy Desther?"

Caldor frowned and rolled his eyes, "That it would look bad to the public if the Helmites were trying to kill each other. Sharwyn he's not a Helmite! I told you that already."

"You don't have any proof Caldor." Sharwyn reminded him.

"I'm a Helmite paladin! I would know the people of my own faith."

"Oh Caldor, stop being so ridiculous." Sharwyn rolled her eyes and turned away from him.

The paladin's fists clenched and unclenched in anger, '_How can she doubt my word on this?_'

"The man's personality alone proves that he is not what he claims to be! He's an utter ass to everyone for no reason! Falsely accusing those of us dedicated in our faiths, calling people unjust names, and more!" He lowered his voice and leaned down next her ear, "He called you a dirty whore. Not only was that over the line and disrespectful to you, it was an insult to me as well." Sharwyn turned and looked up at him in shock.

Caldor shook his head and rubbed his temple. "You should've let me beat some respect into him." He sighed and leaned back against a support column.

Sharwyn turned to Fenthick curiously, "Did he really call me that?"

Fenthick looked down at the ground and nodded.

Aribeth's face twisted up in anger. "If I had known that I would have let your break his skull Caldor." She said through clenched teeth.

"No, its better that you did, I might have regretted it later...maybe."

He watched Sharwyn who stared back at him. Her hands on her hips, she looked away from him shaking her head. He stood and walked towards the bard, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's...just get out of here. We need to get to the Blacklake district." Sharwyn told him. Caldor nodded and turned to Aribeth and Fenthick.

"We'll see you two later."

"Good luck my friends." Fenthick said with a slight bow. Aribeth nodded towards them and smiled.

It had begun to rain while they were in the Hall, so Caldor gave Sharwyn his cloak to wear.

They moved through the City Core quickly and were soon at the Blacklake gates. The guard recognized the two and bowed before opening the gate.

One thing that Caldor noticed quickly was that it seemed to be darker than usual in this area. Fires raged everywhere and pained screams could be heard in the distance.

"This is where the servants lived." Sharwyn told Caldor as they picked their way through.

They managed to reach the center of the area without much incident when they heard the shouting of men a short distance away.

Caldor unsheathed his sword and ran towards the commotion. It was a group of crazed disease carriers banging on the door of a home. The paladin could hear the cries of children inside the building and immediately jumped into the middle of the group.

Sharwyn cast Sound burst at the men and killed a few of them. The rest were finished off by Caldor.

He straightened up then knocked on the door of the home. "Hello, its safe now. Please open the door so I can check on you."

A window in the door opened quickly and a young girl's face appeared. "D...did you get rid of them?" She asked timidly.

"Yes child, please open the door so we can see how you are all doing." Sharwyn said as she walked up.

The door of the little window closed and the door soon opened to reveal a dirty looking girl of about 14. Caldor motioned for Sharwyn to go in, quickly looking around the area to make sure no more of the diseased lunatics were around before quickly entering the building.

The main room was dark save for a single candle glowing weakly in the center. Half a dozen small children sat around staring at Sharwyn and Caldor curiously.

Caldor turned to the eldest girl and asked, "Where are your parents' lass?"

She looked down at the floor and kicked at some fallen debris, "They were killed by all the diseased men. All of the other children here are from different families that had lost their parents. I've been trying my best to take care of all of them, but we are running out of food and water."

Sharwyn walked around the children, checking for injuries. One of the younger children ran up to her and tugged her pants leg. She knelt down and picked up the child then walked over to Caldor.

"What should we do with them Caldor? We can't leave them here."

Caldor pursed his lips and stared at the children, "Let's take them with us to Blacklake. Get them something to eat. We'll figure something out from there."

"There are surely more of those lunatics running around out there. It'd be too dangerous to move them." Sharwyn told him.

"Well we can't leave them here to starve to death. I'll go ahead and clear out any of the bastards that may be lurking around. You and the girl follow with the children." He unsheathed his sword and walked out the door swiftly.

Sharwyn stared after him then turned to the eldest. "Gather them up, we're moving out."

The girl nodded and called all the children to her.

The bard peeked out the door then motioned for the girl to follow her. All of the children were moved into a tight group and moved quickly through the area. Sharwyn could hear sounds of battle in the distance and she knew it was Caldor.

He had done a good job of clearing out the area. Not one of the crazed men had been seen, not even their corpses.

'_We might just get through here unscathed.'_ She thought.

From out of nowhere a single man ran out from between the buildings, screaming bloody murder. All of the children began to wail in fear as the man came closer. He leapt into the air, daggers drawn, and was about to slash at one of the children when Caldor flew out from behind the group and grabbed the man by the face. Once his feet hit the ground he swung the man into the window of a nearby building.

"Come on! Keep moving." Caldor told them as he ran ahead.

Sharwyn urged the children into a run and they followed Caldor quickly. Soon the gate came into sight and Sharwyn sighed in relief.

Caldor stopped and looked around before turning and smiling. He knelt down to rest for a moment when a group of four assassins rushed out of the shadows and jumped onto him.

Sharwyn grabbed the children to stop them from crashing into the pile up. As she pulled them back to her side, she watched as one of the men pulled out a dagger and brought it down fast into Caldor's thigh.

"Caldor!"

The paladin roared in pain and he kicked out at man. The assassin flew back a few feet then jumped at Caldor again. As the man approached, Caldor sent his foot up between the man's legs. The assassin fell over and curled up into a ball, howling in pain.

Caldor shook the other assassins off and stood up away from them. One of the men jumped at him and Caldor swung the back of his fist into the man's face and slammed his elbow into the middle of the man's back as he fell. Another man jumped over the fallen body of his comrade swinging at Caldor with his katana.

Caldor dodge each of the man's swings and punched him hard in the stomach. The assassin fell forward clutching his stomach and the paladin took the opportunity to kick the man in the head, snapping his neck. The last member swung out at him expertly with her dual kukris. Caldor dodged her swift attack as fast as he could but the woman kept slashing his sides and arms. He dodged one of her slashes and grabbed his sword off the ground to try and block her attacks. The female assassin had managed to back Caldor into a corner and was about to finish him off when she suddenly stopped and slumped over on top of him, an arrow sticking out of the middle of her back.

Caldor looked up at Sharwyn who let the bow fall to the ground as she ran up to him. He slid down to a sitting position and looked at the stab wound in his side. It was turning a greenish-red color.

"Took you long enough." Caldor gasped as Sharwyn knelt down next to him and moved the woman's corpse. She moved his hand from over the wound and inspected it, "That blade must have been poisoned."

Caldor tried to look down at the gash again but his head jerked back as a searing pain began to run through his body. He cried out as the pain intensified.

"Caldor! Caldor what is it? What's wrong?"

"The...poison." He told her through gritted teeth. Sharwyn placed a hand on his forehead as she fished around in her bag for a Neutralize Poison.

"Oh gods you're burning up! Where is that damn scroll?" She began tossing things out of her pack as she searched for it.

Caldor began to cough violently and blood dribbled out of the side of his mouth, "Sharwyn...you have to...get the children out of here. More of those... bastards are coming."

Distant yells of the disease carriers could be heard and they were drawing closer.

"I'm not going to leave you here Caldor."

"Yes you...will. Get them out of here...dammit."

"No! I'm not going to lose you."

"Stop being so damn stubborn woman. Get them outta...here..." Caldor slumped over into unconsciousness.

Sharwyn looked at him then back where the sounds of the men were growing louder. She quickly scooped her belongings back into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She bent down again to put Caldor's great sword in its sheath and tighten the belt around his waist.

"Take the children and run to the gate." She told the eldest girl, who nodded and herded the children to the gate.

Sharwyn grabbed one of Caldor's arms and swung it over her shoulder. She steadied herself against the wall and hefted him up. He was quite heavy and she almost fell down but managed to keep upright. After making sure that he was still breathing, she slowly made her way to the gate.

She heard the lunatics getting closer and forced herself to move faster. Sharwyn could feel Caldor's heart beat slowing down and she began to panic.

"Don't you die on me you bastard!" She looked back and saw 20 or so of the crazed men running after her.

Thankfully the gates were in sight and the guards standing watch started shooting arrows at the group of lunatics.

"Hurry, get inside!" One of guards told her as she rushed past him. Once she was past the gate, Sharwyn stumbled and fell forward onto the hard cobblestone. She sat up and put a hand over her nose as it began to bleed.

"Here Sharwyn." The girl handed her a kerchief to stop the bleeding.

The bard looked over at Caldor who was sprawled out next to her. She put a hand over his chest and prayed for a heartbeat. There was one though it was faint.

She dumped the contents of her bag out again and hurriedly shifted through the pile. Finally she found the scroll and started to recite the spell. Dancing lights appeared over Caldor as the spell pulled the poison out of his bloodstream.

He suddenly took in a sharp breath as his heartbeat quickened. Sitting up he looked around the area, "How did I get here?"

Sharwyn smiled and threw her arms around him. "You big idiot!" she cried as she nuzzled his neck.

Caldor stared at her and sighed, "I'm sorry Sharwyn."

The children crowded around the pair and hugged the bard, "Don't cry missus Sharwyn."

She smiled at the children and hugged them back.

Caldor dug a healing potion out of his bag and drank it. "Well we're here now. Let's go find somewhere to rest." He stumbled to his feet then helped Sharwyn up and picked up one of the smaller children, "Follow me."

The various nobles wandering around the district stared at the group curiously as they made their way to the Board Laid Bare Tavern and Inn.

Inside, the tavern was bustling with noblemen chatting loudly. As he walked through the crowd, Caldor kept hearing something about a gauntlet and the prize being the tavern.

The paladin led all the children to the back of the room and sat them down. A barmaid came by and nodded at Sharwyn. "What'll you have?"

The bard nudged Caldor and he turned to the barmaid, "Chicken soup please. A lot of soup."

The girl nodded and ran back to the kitchen.

The paladin sat down in the booth and one of the children crawled into his lap, "We gonna eat soup mista Caldor?" He nodded at him and looked over at Sharwyn. Two kids were fighting over which one would get to sit in her lap. One of the other little girls crawled into Sharwyn's lap and started playing with her hair. The other two were not happy about that.

Caldor smiled and shook his head. He turned to the 14 year old who was tending to two of the children, "What's your name lass?"

"My name is Lise." She told him.

"Well, we're going to find somewhere for you to stay so you don't have to worry anymore."

The girl smiled and thanked him.

"Where are we going to keep them Cal?" Sharwyn asked.

"We'll find someplace." He answered.

He listened to the nobles' conversation and watched as a few of them disappeared into a door nearby. Caldor moved the child off his lap and walked over to the barkeep.

"What's this about a fighting arena I keep hearing?" He asked as he leaned on the bar.

The barkeep leaned forward, "The proprietor of this place holds fights downstairs. The winner gets the Board Laid Bare. Of course the Boss has never lost."

Caldor nodded and looked back at the children. "I want to get into that arena."

"50 gold." The barkeep held out his hand. Caldor gave the man the gold and the barkeep gave him a key.

"Good luck lad."

Caldor walked back over to the table and dropped his sword and bag by the seat.

"What are you doing Caldor?" Sharwyn asked.

"I'll be back soon. Stay here with the kids please." He waved goodbye to the children and walked down the stairs leading to the arena.

'_What are you up to_?'

The arena was vast and well lit with a large cage in the center. Dried blood stains were everywhere on the ground inside and on a large torch in the center with a rusted lever sitting next to it. 30 people sat around the walls of the cage chatting loudly about their favorite fighter.

Caldor walked to a lone woman leaning calmly against the wall. "You here to fight?"

"Yes, when is the next match being held and what are the rules?"

"The next match will be in a few minutes. The rules are: No weapons, magic or pets. All enhancement spells will be removed before each match. The winner is the person still standing and who pulls the lever in the center. No one ever dies in the arena so you don't have to worry about that."

Caldor nodded and removed his chain vest and breastplate. He stretched his arms and looked around for those who would be his opponents. In a corner he noticed a dwarven fighter, a Halfling monk and a half-orc barbarian, all battle ready. Standing next to the gate into the arena was a large human. He grinned at Caldor and walked towards him.

"Hail fresh meat! I'm Claudus, the owner of this inn. After each round you'll get a medal if you win. If you don't know already, if you manage to get to me and win you get the inn but don't count on that happening."

The man stepped away from him and leaned back against the wall.

"The first match will be beginning soon." The woman boomed. The spectators instantly became excited and crowded around the cage.

She turned to Caldor and thumbed to the dwarf. "You're going up against Hrusk."

Caldor nodded and walked into the cage. The dwarf followed behind him and walked to the other side of the arena.

"Ready! FIGHT!"

The dwarf rushed towards Caldor and grabbed him around the legs, lifting him up and slamming him back against the wall. The air was knocked out of him but he quickly recovered and slammed his fists into Hrusk's back. The dwarf let go of Caldor who slid to the side. The dwarf swung his fist at Caldor but he dodged and slammed the side of his hand into the back of Hrusk's neck. The dwarf teetered over then turned around and ran towards Caldor, sending his forearm into the paladin's stomach.

Caldor moved away from the blow and wrapped his arm around Hrusk's waist. With a mighty heave, he lifted the dwarf up then slammed him down onto the hard stone. The air went out of Hrusk in a single gust and he was soon unconscious. Caldor straightened up and pulled the lever.

"The winner is the newcomer!"

The crowd around the cage yelled loudly as the woman opened the cage gate to allow Caldor to exit.

"Nice job lad but Hrusk was nothing. Let's see how you fair against your next opponent. Kellisai tell him who he's up against." Claudus said as he handed Caldor the medal.

"You'll be fighting the Halfling monk Fashi. What's your name anyway newcomer?"

"My name is Caldor."

"Your fight with Fashi will begin in a few minutes so get ready." Kellisai told him.

Caldor nodded and stretched. Fighting a monk in hand-to-hand combat definitely wasn't going to be easy.

He sat down on the ground and leaned back against the wall. '_Come on Caldor. We can win this no problem. Have to do this for the children._'

"The next fight will be starting soon! Fighters into the arena!" Kellisai yelled over the excited shouts of the audience.

Fashi bounced into the arena and went into a low fighting stance. Caldor followed him and eyed the monk wearily as he circled around him.

"Ready! FIGHT!"

The monk spun into the air and hit Caldor square in the nose. The paladin fell back and shook his head, glaring at the Halfling.

Fashi flew at him again in a flurry of kicks and punches. Caldor dodged and ducked as many of his attacks as possible but the monk landed a few in his stomach and his arms.

Caldor turned away from Fashi and tried to punch him in the side but his attack was easily blocked. The Halfling turned and hit Caldor in the neck then kicked his legs out from under him.

'_Well this isn't going to work._' Caldor thought as he stared up at the ceiling.

Fashi circled around him then proceeded to stomp the paladin's face. Caldor caught the monk's foot and swung him over onto the ground. Both men jumped to their feet quickly and Caldor charged the Halfling, slamming him into the wall.

Fashi jumped back onto his feet, kicking Caldor in the process. He staggered back then kicked out at the monk, who quickly sidestepped and slammed his elbow into the paladin's side.

Caldor jumped away from him, holding his side. Fashi grinned devilishly then ran towards him. The monk jumped into the air, preparing to kick him in the head when Caldor grabbed him. Fashi stared at him in surprise as Caldor flung him into the air behind him.

The monk hit the wall hard and slid down quickly to the floor headfirst. He hit the ground hard and he slumped to the ground unconscious. Caldor stared at the Halfling for a moment then pulled the lever.

"Caldor is the winner once again ladies and gentlemen!"

The crowd cheered enthusiastically as Caldor staggered out of the ring and slumped against the wall.

"Nice going kid, but you are not getting past Agar." Claudus threw the medal onto Caldor's lap and walked away.

"Good job newcomer." Kellisai smiled at him then cast a healing spell on him.

The paladin stood up and bowed to her. "Thank you m'lady."

"You're quite lucky; usually anyone that gets to Fashi is finished in a heartbeat." Kellisai told him.

"Yea, he does seem to be quite the lucky one...when I'm looking after him that is." Caldor groaned and turned around slowly.

"Oh...hey Sharwyn."

The bard glared at him and tapped her foot.

Claudus turned from the men he was talking to and grinned. "Oh ho! Lookee here boys. The pretty boy newcomer's woman is here."

Sharwyn ignored him and waited patiently for Caldor to explain.

"Look...Sharwyn. The prize is the inn and I was just trying to find someplace to keep the children until this plague is cured."

"We could have just as easily used the Recall stone to take the kids back to the City Core Caldor or did you forget about that."

"No I didn't. Where in the City Core would they keep them? I didn't see any orphanages there. Plus the Hall of Justice is full enough as it is. There is no place with free space in the Core."

Sharwyn looked away from him for a moment then looked back up at him. "Okay then fine. Just try not to get yourself seriously wounded."

"No worries. No one dies in these fights; this cleric here makes sure of that." Kellisai spoke up.

"Hehe, the only thing that will be injured here in the Gauntlet will be your boyfriend's ego." Claudus laughed.

"He's not my boyfriend. Besides he shouldn't have any trouble with the lot of you. He's taken down worse." Sharwyn winked at Caldor and he smiled.

Claudus frowned, "Haw, so you say girlie but if your boy here manages to get to me he's toast." The man slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand and grinned at Caldor.

The paladin simply raised an eyebrow and leaned back against the wall. "Well we'll just see about that, now won't we?"

Claudus scowled and turned away from him.

"Where are the children?"

"Lise is watching them upstairs. They're all eating."

Caldor nodded then turned to the arena. "Why don't you go on back upstairs? I'll finish up here and be up soon."

"I think not, I'm going to stay down here and watch. It's no fun taking care of the children without you around."

Caldor looked at her and smiled, "Alright fine."

"The third match will begin in a few minutes. Fighters into the ring." Kellisai announced.

Caldor walked into the ring and stood opposite of the large half-orc. Agar cracked his knuckles and growled at the paladin. "You're going down pretty boy."

"Ready! FIGHT!"

Caldor charged at the larger man. Agar watched him with a grin. Once Caldor was in arms length, the half-orc grabbed him around the waist and flipped him upside down.

Caldor stared at him in disbelief as he was suspended in air.

Agar smiled cruelly and slammed him into the ground. Cracks formed on the ground around where Caldor had landed.

The air had been knocked out of him completely.

"Ha ha, you are no match for Agar!"

The half-orc placed his boot on Caldor's neck and started pressing down on his windpipe.

The paladin struggled under his boot, trying desperately to push the man's foot off.

"Get up Caldor! Don't let him beat you so easily!" Sharwyn yelled at him.

Caldor glared at her as he grabbed Agar's foot and twisted it sharply.

The half-orc howled in pain as he stumbled away from Caldor.

Standing up, Caldor massaged his neck trying to regulate his breathing.

Agar looked at his now twisted ankle. With a grimace he grabbed the limb and twisted it back into place, growling at the paladin.

"You'll pay for that."

Agar ran towards him and swinging his fist high into the air.

Caldor backed away and looked around him. Agar was now nearly upon him and was preparing to send his fist into Caldor's face. The paladin jumped back into the air and seemed to attach to the arena bars.

Sharwyn stared at him in surprise as he climbed up higher in the cage.

"Hey! Come back down here and fight likes a man!" Agar roared at him.

'_Hm...now how shall I finish this large fellow?_' Caldor thought as he clung to the wall safely out of reach.

Agar jumped into the air and tried to grab the paladin but to no avail. The half-orc stared at the man angrily.

With a smirk Caldor jumped off the wall and over the Agar's head. As he fell, he gracefully turned in midair and kicked Agar in the middle of his back with both feet.

The man was taken completely by surprise and slammed against the cage walls.

Caldor rolled back to his feet and flew at Agar, punching him in the back and sides. Agar turned around and blocked some of his attacks. As he tried to swing at Caldor, the paladin jumped back. He moved to the side and slammed his forearm into Agar's side then kicked him again in the back, finishing with a spinning back kick to the half-orc's head.

Agar staggered forward, massaging the back of his head. His vision was blurred and he could barely see Caldor as he ran up to him again and jumped into the air, landing another kick in the side of his face.

The half-orc spun in the air and hit the ground hard. He picked himself up and stared at Caldor. "You's a pretty good fighter." Agar massaged the back of his head as he stood upright in front of the paladin.

Caldor stepped back from him quickly but not quickly enough. Agar lifted him up into the air and began punching him repeatedly in the stomach.

"Caldor! Break loose!" Sharwyn shrieked.

The paladin tried to pries Agar's hands loose but he was getting weak quickly with Agar now choking him.

Having had enough, Agar threw him into the opposite wall. Caldor slid down to the ground, not moving.

Agar roared in triumph and walked over to the lever. "No one can beat the mighty Agar!" He yelled to the cheering crowd.

"That's what you think." Agar swerved around and stared at Caldor in shock. The crowd stopped cheering and watched in disbelief. Sharwyn merely smiled.

Pulling his arm back quickly, he slammed his fist into Agar's neck. As the half-orc reeled back, Caldor kicked him hard in the stomach and grinned as Agar flew backward into the cage walls shaking a good amount of dust from the tops. The half-orc looked up at him in disbelief. "Y...you beat..." He slumped over.

Caldor pulled the lever and stumbled towards the gate amid the roar of the crowd. People patted him heartily on the back as he exited the cage and walked over to Sharwyn. She smiled, "Nice fight paladin."

He smiled at her and leaned against the wall as a good portion of the crowd congratulated him. Kellisai pushed her way through the crowd followed by Claudus.

"Congratulations." Kellisai smiled and cast a healing spell on him.

Claudus grimaced and handed Caldor another medal. "Yea, so you beat Agar. You're just lucky. You ain't gettin' my inn though so you'd be better off taking the medals you have and heading back upstairs." Claudus told him.

Caldor noticed the tiny hint of fear in the man's voice and smirked. "What? Are you afraid that you are no match for me big man? If so, you can save yourself the trouble and hand the inn over to me right now."

Claudus's face turned bright red with anger. "Why you little! Fine, we'll fight this out and you'll be sorry you stepped into the ring with me." He turned on his heel and stomped through the crowd, roughly pushing anyone in his way.

Caldor sat down cross-legged on the ground and handed the three medals to Sharwyn. "Could you watch these for me?"

She nodded and put the medals around her neck and kneeled down behind him. She placed her hands on his shoulder and began massaging his neck muscles, "You'll have to watch out for that one. He doesn't look to be a fair fighter."

Caldor smiled, "I was thinking that. He still shouldn't be too hard."

"Don't get cocky paladin, you don't know what kind of enchantments he has cast on him before his matches."

Caldor looked over to where Claudus was yelling at Kellisai. She didn't look too impressed and rolled her eyes at him. "I think if we persuade Miss Kellisai a bit the fight will be evened up."

Sharwyn nodded, "Exactly what I was thinking."

"The final fight between the reigning champion Claudus and our rising star Caldor will begin shortly! Fighters report to the ring!" Kellisai announced.

Caldor stood up and stretched his legs.

"I'll persuade Kellisai to even up the match; you just worry about beating Claudus." Sharwyn smiled at him before disappearing into the crowd.

Caldor turned to the arena where Claudus had already entered. He had worked the crowd into a frenzy and was now staring daggers at the paladin.

Caldor smirked and walked towards the arena.

"Hey Kellisai." The cleric turned and nodded at Sharwyn.

"I know that Claudus has enchantments on and I was wondering if you could...even the fight a little by removing them." Sharwyn said sweetly.

Kellisai pursed her lip, "If I do that he'll fire me."

"Not if Caldor wins, who will have a better chance of doing that with the spells removed."

Kellisai thought for a moment then smiled, "I never liked that jerk anyway."

Sharwyn smiled back and watched as Kellisai began casting the Dispel Magic spell.

In the cage, Claudus circled around Caldor, grinning arrogantly. "Prepare to lose boy, I've been champion for months."

"Well it seems that I will be taking the title of champion today."

"Ha, boy you don't have a clue who...you..." The color drained from Claudus's face as he felt his strength dissipate. He turned to Kellisai who waved at him with a devilish grin.

"Traitor!"

"Oh it looks like all your enchantments are gone. Looks like your chances to win have dropped pal." The smile faded from Caldor's face and he cracked his knuckles in a business like manner.

"Oh hell." Claudus groaned.

"Ready! FIGHT!"

Caldor jumped towards Claudus and kicked him in the arm, knocking him backward. Claudus held his hands up in defense and jabbed the air in front of Caldor. "Let's go boy."

Caldor bounced on both feet and swung at Claudus. He dodged and tried to jab Caldor in the chest but the attack was easily blocked.

The paladin circled around him calmly. Claudus tried to punch Caldor in the stomach this time but Caldor blocked it and hit his opponent once on the nose and a second time on the chin.

"Caldor quite fooling around and kick his ass!" Sharwyn shouted.

"Yes ma'am." He stomped on one of Claudus's feet and swung his other leg to kick him in the side.

Claudus managed to keep upright and pushed Caldor away. He charged him and slammed his shoulder into Caldor's stomach, knocking him back a few paces. Caldor flew at him and slammed his fist into Claudus's face.

Claudus grabbed Caldor's arm and swung him around throwing him away from him.

The paladin caught himself and ran towards Claudus again.

The man threw his arms up to defend himself and Caldor simply jumped over him. Claudus turned around and went face first into a fist. He backed away and covered his bleeding nose. Caldor walked up to his opponent and hit him in the throat and again in the side.

Claudus tried to grab Caldor who sidestepped him and hit him hard in the back of the neck. Claudus fell forward onto his hands and knees. Caldor kicked him in the stomach and the man fell to the ground, coughing up blood.

Caldor didn't wait to see if he was unconscious, he just pulled the lever and walked out of the cage.

"I present to you the new champion and owner of the Board Laid Bare, Caldor Erion!"

Sharwyn jumped onto Caldor and gave him a big hug. "Congratulations Caldor, you have your own inn now."

Caldor smiled and put her back down on the ground.

Claudus stumbled out of the arena and spat on the ground in front of the paladin. "Fine, ya won fair and square. The inn is yours. My friends are going with me though. You get the inn but not the gauntlet. Let's go boys." He threw a final medal at him and walked up the stairs followed by Agar, Fashi and Hrusk.

"Good. Though the inn won't make as much money now that they are gone, it's good to finally be rid of 'em." Kellisai turned to Caldor and smiled, "I'm glad to be working under you now Boss."

Caldor smiled at her and nodded. He picked up his gear and walked up the stairs. "Glad that's finally over with. Now let's see how the children are doing."

Sharwyn followed him up the stairs quickly. The pair was greeted by an applauding crowd. "Congratulations Master Erion!"

Caldor thanked them and walked to the table where the children were. They were all singing happily and some were dancing.

"Well aren't you a happy bunch."

The children stopped and looked up at him, "Hi Unca Caldor!"

"Uncle Caldor? Now whose idea was that?" He turned to Sharwyn who smiled at him.

The bartender walked toward the group and bowed before Caldor, "Congratulations Boss. Anything I can help ya with?"

"Yea, is there somewhere we could keep all these children?"

"Well there is large room down in the cellar's that was used as Claudus's game room. The place can be emptied out and beds can be put in. "

Caldor nodded and turned to Kellisai, "Here take this gold and go buy some beds and blankets."

Kellisai nodded and ran out the door.

"C'mon children, let's head downstairs and straighten up your new home. Lead the way barkeep."

The barkeep nodded and led the way to the cellars. As Caldor followed him, he was stopped by a short man dressed in the finery of nobility.

"You must be Caldor Erion, are you not?"

"Yes?" Caldor raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Ah you are! Kind sir, I would like to invite you to a ball I am holding tonight at my estate. I would be honored if you would attend as my guest."

Caldor frowned a little and shook his head, "I'm sorry sir but I have pressing matters to attend to and..."

"Of course he'll come." Sharwyn interrupted as she nudged Caldor's arm.

"Sharwyn! We don't have time for foolishness; we have to find the dryad." He whispered to her.

"If we go to this ball we can gather information. Nobles love to gossip and surely one of them has come across the dryad."

The paladin rolled his eyes, "Oh alright, we'll come to the ball."

"Excellent! Please come to my estate at 7 o'clock. Here is my address. See you then!" The man turned away from them and quickly exited the building.

Caldor closed his eyes and ground his teeth, "We had better find out something tonight or you're in some serious trouble m'lady."

Sharwyn laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry my friend, we'll find that Dryad in no time."

The barkeep cleared his throat and watched them patiently. Caldor nodded and followed him down the staircase, the children bouncing around them happily.

* * *

The paladin was not at all happy. The idea of going to a party with a bunch of rich folk was definitely not his idea of fun. Of course Sharwyn seemed to be quite excited. She jabbered away at length about matching outfits or some such nonsense as she dragged him across the district.

They stopped at the door of a high end tailor's named Frank's Designs.

"Eh." Caldor mumbled.

"C'mon now." Sharwyn told him as she dragged him inside.

The shop was quite colorful, and rows of manikins with colorful dress wear lined the walls. A cheery looking young man trotted over to them and bowed.

"Welcome welcome! How may I be of service?"

"We're going to a ball tonight and need something to wear." Sharwyn told the man with a smile.

The man nodded and circled around the pair. "Ah. Yes. You two are an attractive couple; I think I have just the outfits for you."

The man quickly took their measurements then left the room through a door in the back.

Caldor rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling.

Sharwyn smiled and elbowed him in the side. "Stop your belly-aching."

"I don't like social events, especially those involving the insanely rich." He told her.

"And how many have you been too exactly?" Sharwyn turned to him and smirked.

"None, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm still not going to enjoy being there."

The shopkeeper reappeared carrying two piles of clothing. He picked up a dark blue dress from the pile and let it fall free. Sharwyn stared at the dress in awe.

"It's beautiful." She took the dress from the man and looked it up and down. The sleeveless dress was a dark blue color with embroidered white leaves all along the sides of the gown. The top was covered with more of the leaves with tiny chains of flowers woven in between. Soft ruffles lined the neckline of the gown.

Caldor watched her silently and blinked. "Try it on then."

Sharwyn turned to look at him. He cocked his head to the side and smiled. "Go on."

The bard squealed happily and dashed behind an ornate screen. The shopkeeper turned to him and smirked. "Your wife?"

Caldor shook his head, "No, just a friend."

"Ah." The man winked and picked up the second pile of clothes and handed them to the paladin.

He raised an eyebrow at the clothes then sat down on a nearby bench. He picked up the coat and stared at it curiously. Caldor traced his fingers over the silver buttons and rubbed the fabric between his fingers.

"This is silk?"

"Yes sir! The finest silk imported from the eastern lands."

Caldor pursed his lips and nodded in approval, "This is very nice."

The pants were made of the same black material. The vest was also silk with silver buttons and had elaborate designs embroidered onto it. A single white piece of silk rested on top of the boots.

Caldor inspected and decided that it must be on of those collar things that he frequently sees around the necks of noblemen. The boots were made with supple black leather and a brightly polished buckle rested on the sides holding them together.

Hearing footsteps and the scraping of wood against the floor, Caldor looked up at the screen and his jaw dropped.

Sharwyn twirled around in front of him and smiled. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

"What do you think?"

When Caldor didn't answer, the shopkeeper smirked and nudged him gently, "Sir, you might want to pick your jaw up off the floor and answer the lady."

The paladin shook his head and stood up. "You look absolutely stunning m'lady! I didn't think it was even possible for you to look any more beautiful."

Sharwyn looked away from him to hide the deep crimson on her cheeks. "Thank you Caldor."

He smiled and looked her over again. The gown accented her curves very well and fit especially well along the bust. His eye twitched a little and he looked back up to her face.

She was watching him and grinned as he looked up at her again suddenly.

"All right your turn paladin."

He nodded and picked his clothes up and disappeared behind the screen.

"That gown was practically made for you m'lady." The shopkeeper said as he nodded in approval.

"Thank you; it is a very well made gown. I presume you made it yourself?" Sharwyn asked.

"Indeed." The shopkeeper said proudly.

"I thought you had the look of a master tailor about you."

"Thank you m'lady." The shopkeeper bowed before her and smiled.

The bard turned toward the screen and smiled as she watched Caldor step out from behind it. He adjusted the coat and looked at her with a smile.

"How do I look?"

Sharwyn could barely contain her excitement and quickly walked toward him. She grabbed his jacket and buttoned it up. "You look very handsome my friend. Heh, I knew you cleaned up nicely."

He grinned, "This outfit is actually pretty comfortable."

Sharwyn tucked the silk collar underneath the vest and brushed off his shoulders before standing back. She gave him a quick look over then stepped up to him again and took the leather band out of his hair.

"There, now you look like a true noble gentle."

Caldor rolled his eyes and smirked. "Okay we got our costumes are you happy now?"

Sharwyn laughed and nodded. The paladin turned to the shopkeeper, "Okay, how much?" He held his breath in anticipation for whatever outrageous sum he was going to ask for.

"That'll be 2000 gold pieces."

"Oh wow, that's a pretty good deal." Caldor took the gold out of his purse and handed it to the man.

"Glad to do business with ye." The man said happily.

They quickly changed out of the clothes and had them wrapped up before heading out the door of the shop.

"Phew, glad that's over with." Caldor sighed in relief.

Sharwyn grabbed his arm and pulled him back almost making him drop the packages with their clothes.

"Not so fast we're not done yet." She pointed to an accessory and jewelry shop next to the tailor's.

"Aw! Son of a b-" Sharwyn yanked him towards the shop preventing him from finishing his sentence.

They came out as soon as they entered with a bag containing a necklace, earrings, some perfume and a string of pearls.

Caldor stared up at the sky despairingly, "Ugh, women and their shopping." He fumed.

Sharwyn smiled at him innocently.

"Humph, I'll be glad when this is over with. We're getting nothing accomplished." Caldor told her.

"Oh Caldor hush, I told you we'll be able to do some investigating at the ball tonight."

They soon reached the inn and headed to the barkeep. "Can I get a key to one of the rooms please?"

The barkeep nodded and handed him a key, "Thought ya might ask. Here is the key to one of the suites Boss."

"Thanks!" Sharwyn grabbed the key and shot up the stairs.

Caldor looked at the ground and shook his head before following her up the stairs.

"What's gotten into Ms. Sharwyn?" Kellisai asked as she leaned against the bar.

"Eh, must have something to do with that ball that they're going to. That Caldor is a lucky fellow."

Kellisai smiled. "That he is."


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Caldor is still the only character that belongs to me. All others belong to Bioware.  
  
"Caldor can you help me with this necklace?"  
  
Caldor stood up from his seat on the bed and stood behind Sharwyn, who was sitting at the nearby vanity. He took the chain out of her hands and quickly clasped it behind her neck. "There you go." He smiled and jabbed her in the sides before sitting back down on the bed to put on his boots.  
  
The bard looked in his direction and scowled at him before turning back to the mirror. Once Caldor was done buckling up his boots he stood up again and walked to the open balcony door. He crossed his arms across his chest and stared out over the district. Pairs of young nobles quickly dashed about, either going to the ball or someplace else to be alone.  
  
Sharwyn watched him in the mirror then picked up the string of pearls. "You're going to have fun at this ball Caldor." She told him as she weaved the pearls through her hair.  
  
"You obviously don't know me very well then." Caldor told her without turning around.  
  
"Well...you will have fun."  
  
"Heh, vee' lle merna arwenamin."  
  
"What?" Sharwyn asked.  
  
"I said 'as you wish m'lady.'"  
  
"I don't recall you ever speaking any elven before."  
  
Caldor shrugged and sighed, "This whole thing is absurd! Why did I let you talk me into this?" he growled.  
  
"Well it was obviously my female charms." Sharwyn smiled.  
  
"Damn you and your unfathomable beauty." He grumbled.  
  
Sharwyn chuckled as she finished putting the pearls into her hair and sprayed the contents of a nearby bottle onto her neck. She picked Caldor's coat up off the bed as she walked towards him.  
  
"The ball will go by quickly, you'll barely notice it." She put the coat over his shoulders.  
  
"Humph." Caldor pulled the jacket on and buttoned it up, "You ready to go?" "Yes, let's get going." He watched her as she walked back to the vanity and blew out the candle. Glancing at him quickly over her shoulder, she headed towards the door and opened it. Caldor followed her out the door and shut it quietly.  
  
"Lle naa vanima."  
  
Sharwyn turned and looked at him curiously. He simply smiled at her and continued walking towards the staircase.  
  
The tavern was quite busy and many of the patrons stopped what they were doing to hold their mugs up in greeting as the pair came down the stairs.  
  
"Good evenin' to you Master Erion!"  
  
He nodded at them and continued to walk to the door.  
  
"Have a good time at the ball boss!" The Kellisai yelled from behind the bar.  
  
"I'll try to make sure he does." Sharwyn said with a smile. Kellisai laughed and waved goodbye to them. Sharwyn bounced out the door happily as Caldor opened it for her. The barkeep laughed as Caldor rolled his eyes and followed her out the door.  
  
"Now where is the noble's estate at again?" Caldor asked as he looked around the district. "Um...it's over this way." Sharwyn grabbed the paladin by his arm and led him towards a brightly lit mansion in the northwest corner of the district. Many other couples could be seen heading in the same direction, chatting loudly as they caught up with friends that were also going to the ball.  
  
At the door of the mansion, a well-groomed human in pearly white garb greeted the guests and checked their names off on a thin sheet of parchment.  
  
"Ah, you must Lord Erion and Lady Sharwyn! Please, go right in!"  
  
Once in the foyer of the mansion, Caldor leaned down to Sharwyn's ear, "I don't think I've ever been called a Lord before." Sharwyn smiled at him and led him in the direction of the other guests.  
  
The ballroom was dazzling. Made completely of white marble, the whole room looked as if it could fit the whole population of the district in it with room to spare. "One would think these people would have a better use for all their gold." Caldor commented as he looked around. Sharwyn looked up at him and smiled, "If you had a ton of gold what would you do with it?"  
  
"Well first I would feed the poor, provide jobs, build orphanages and open a school. I'd also make sure the city guard were well trained and properly equipped." He counted off on his fingers as he answered her.  
  
"Hm...yep sounds like something you would do." Sharwyn said.  
  
"Ah! Sir Erion you've arrived! Greetings Lady Sharwyn, I'm glad the two of you could make it." The noble from the tavern bounded over to them cheerfully and heartily shook Caldor's hand.  
  
"I would like to thank you for inviting us Lord...err."  
  
"Davis Hammond."  
  
"Yes... thank you Lord Hammond." Caldor bowed slightly before their host.  
  
"You are very welcome. Now, please come in! Make yourselves comfortable. There are tables on the other side of the dance floor with food and servants are out and about serving pastries." Hammond led them deeper into the ballroom, introducing them to the other guests.  
  
The young noble women practically fell over themselves to greet Caldor and the young men nearly fought each other trying to speak to Sharwyn. "My word, you are Sir Erion! It...it is an honor to meet you." The young woman fluttered her eyelashes and pushed up on her corset to display a bit more bosom then necessary.  
  
"Eh, it's a pleasure to meet you m'lady." He said to the girl as another held her hand out to him.  
  
"Look at him! He's so strong and handsome!" A girl whispered to her friend. "Yes I know. I wouldn't mind spending an evening with him." She whispered in reply.  
  
Caldor heard them, unfortunately, and groaned inwardly. He looked around for Sharwyn only to find that she was gone, leaving him alone with a small army of single females.  
  
_'Aw, damn it.'_  
  
He scanned the ballroom quickly trying to spot her in the crowd. Caldor finally managed to find her near the dance floor at the center of the ballroom. Six young men were surrounding Sharwyn and chatted with her animatedly.  
  
"Excuse me ladies, I have to go get my date. It was nice meeting all of you." He excused himself from their presence and quickly walked through the crowd. Sharwyn was enjoying herself and had thankfully not received any unwanted advances. "Sharwyn."  
  
She turned and looked in the direction of the voice and smiled. "Oh, gentlemen have you met Sir Erion yet?" She asked as she held out her hand to Caldor.  
  
"No we haven't, it is a pleasure to meet you sir." The young men bowed respectfully.  
  
Caldor nodded at them and smiled, "Um Sharwyn? Could I speak to you for a moment?"  
  
"Of course, if you all will excuse me."  
  
The young men nodded reluctantly and scowled at Caldor as he led the bard to an unpopulated corner of the ballroom.  
  
"Okay, we're here now. How do you plan on finding the information that we seek?"  
  
"Well my dear paladin, I was working on that until you arrived and escorted me away." Sharwyn smirked at him.  
  
"Eh." Caldor looked away and scanned the dinner tables. Plump nobles surrounded the food and talked among themselves as they picked at the feast. "Why don't we try listening in on them?" Sharwyn looped her arms with his and nodded. "Lead the way."  
  
The pair moved through the crowds quickly and casually picked at the food once they reached the table. Caldor picked up a couple cubes of cheese and maneuvered over to the fruit bowl where the nobles were standing.  
  
"You've heard about Meldanen's new toy right?"  
  
"Oh, he has another one?" A tall blonde asked.  
  
"Indeed. I hear it's a pretty little female. Of course my source didn't get a real good look at her."  
  
"Heh, that Meldanen. Too bad he found her first."  
  
Sharwyn tugged on the tail of Caldor's coat and they backed away into a corner. "Well we know where the Dryad is so we can leave now." Caldor whispered.  
  
"No we can't leave yet. If we just up and went our host would be quite upset and you don't want to get nobles upset." Sharwyn whispered back.  
  
"I see...well what should we do now?" He asked dejectedly.  
  
Sharwyn looked back at the dance floor and grinned. "Let's dance."  
  
"What?" She took hold of his hand and dragged him to the center.  
  
An elven bard appeared from a backroom and stood in front of the other musicians set up at the front of the ballroom.  
  
"Vedui' il'er! Welcome to Lord Hammond's Midsummer Ball!"  
  
The guests clapped enthusiastically as they congregated on the dance floor. The musicians began to play immediately. It was a slow song, perfect for couples that wanted to get up close.  
  
"You know how to dance right?" She asked him as she wrapped an arm around his neck.  
  
"Yes, yes I do." He replied with a sigh.  
  
"No worries then. I'm sure you'll enjoy getting up close." She smiled at him as she pressed herself up against him.  
  
"Must you tease me so?" Caldor asked her resignedly  
  
"Of course."  
  
He grinned and shook his head. "I don't know what I'd do without you." Sharwyn took the lead and Caldor followed her gladly. They moved across the floor gracefully dodging the other dancers.  
  
Sharwyn hummed along to the song and winked at Caldor. He smiled and twisted her around him and dipped her near a pot of roses. He picked one from the pot and tickled her chin with it.  
  
"For you m'lady."  
  
Sharwyn took it from him and smiled, "Thank you m'lord."  
  
Caldor chuckled and stood her upright again. They continued dancing until the song finally came to an end. The dancers clapped as the musicians bowed and prepared to play another song.  
  
Caldor took Sharwyn by the hand and led her off the dance floor to one of the many balconies connected to the ballroom. She let go of his hand and twirled away from him then leaned up against the stone railing. "Oh this has been so much fun Caldor!"  
  
Caldor watched her silently and slipped his hands into his pants pockets, "I'm glad you're having fun. I guess it was a good idea to come here and have a take a break from all the fighting." He looked up at the stars and sighed.  
  
"Hmm, you were right. I am having fun tonight." Caldor gave her a sideways glance and smiled.  
  
Sharwyn smiled back at him and turned to look over the railing, "The wealthy are lucky to have the gold to block out all the horrible things that are happening in the rest of city."  
  
Caldor's lips formed a thin line and he walked up to Sharwyn, "Lucky perhaps, but it is rather selfish of them to do so." He turned around and leaned back on the railing and looked back into the ballroom. More people had moved onto the dance floor now and it seemed that a faster song was being played. Sharwyn looked up at him.  
  
"Caldor..."  
  
His eyes focused on her and he waited patiently for her to continue.  
  
"From what you told me, you were a ranger at one point. Why did you become a paladin?"  
  
He smiled and looked back into the ballroom, "Despite what you may be thinking, nothing wholly interesting happened to make me turn to the life of a Helmite paladin. One day a Watchknight wandered into the forest and I talked to him. He told me about his faith and it intrigued me. Later I told my clan about it and they told me that I should check it out if I was interested. I did and here I am."  
  
Caldor smiled and brushed a few strands of hair away from his face.  
  
Sharwyn turned her head to the side, "Are you sure there isn't more than that?"  
  
Caldor wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, "Would you rather I made something up?" He whispered into her ear.  
  
Sharwyn smiled and closed her eyes, "No."  
  
He pulled away from her and started walking toward the ballroom. "I'll get us something to drink."  
  
"Wait a second Caldor." Sharwyn ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck, "Thanks for tonight." She whispered into his ear before kissing him on the cheek. Sharwyn turned away from him and leaned against the railing again. Caldor smiled and continued walking into the ballroom.  
  
Sharwyn sighed and looked out into the night sky. She could barely see the smoke from the corpse pyres in the city core. The evening masked the fact that there was a deadly plague going around the city.  
  
"What is a beautiful rose like yourself doing alone out here, hmm?"  
  
Sharwyn turned and watched the man standing in the shadows. "Who are you?"  
  
"No one special madam. I was just observing you and the paladin. Is he...your lover? No, don't answer that. He's just a friend, right? Just keep telling yourself that."  
  
Sharwyn frowned, "What is it you want?"  
  
The man held up a hand, "I want nothing from you. You should be honest with yourself...you want him. You could take him easily." The man fisted his hand tightly for emphasis.  
  
"Look...sir. I don't know what your getting at but --"  
  
"Let me finish. You have someone already. Dannen correct? Just nod girl. Though... something has happened...yes something that has taken him away from you but you still have feelings for him nevertheless. You come here and you meet Caldor... hmm. Yes, a fine specimen of a man who interests you greatly. Already he has feelings for you and you for him. But you still think of Dannen. Yes, you still have a plan to get him back but...you have Caldor now. Hard decision. Choose the bard or choose the paladin." The man crossed his arms.  
  
Sharwyn stared at him in shock, "How...do you know?" She clenched her fists and fire engulfed her hands. "I demand to know who you are and how you know what you do!"  
  
"I am not a threat to you girl. I just want to offer you some advice. Follow your heart. You are a strong woman and you should have a strong man. A man with a weak mind should not be the one you hang onto. Move on and take who is handed to you by fate." He pulled out a cigar and lit it with his finger. He took a long drag and blew the smoke in Sharwyn's direction. The smoke tendrils swirled around in front of her face and formed a dragon's head before disappearing. Brilliant green eyes glowed brightly from the shadows and disappeared again. The man was gone.  
  
The flames around Sharwyn's hands went out and she stared at the spot where the man was standing. Caldor came around the corner with two wineglasses and stopped when he noticed Sharwyn.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked as he walked up to her and set the wineglasses down on the railing. "Sharwyn?" He waved his hand in front of her face and she looked up at him.  
  
"Are you feeling alright m'lady? Do you want to go back to the inn?" 

"No...I'm alright Caldor...thank you."  
  
Caldor smiled and handed her one of the wineglasses. She took it from him and smiled. He picked up the other glass and held it up. "A toast to friends."  
  
"A...toast." She said hesitantly.  
  
Caldor swallowed his wine in a single gulp and watched Sharwyn. She sipped at her wine delicately then looked in the paladin's direction. "Let's head back to the inn now. It's getting rather late." Sharwyn held her wine glass out to him.  
  
Caldor nodded and took the glass from her and led the way back into the ballroom. They met Lord Hammond on the way out and said their goodbyes before heading out the door. Sharwyn wrapped her arm around Caldor's and leaned against his shoulder. He looked down at her then back up.  
  
Not too far from them, an older looking woman hobbled along carry a heavy looking bag. "Hold on a moment Sharwyn." The bard let go of his arm and followed Caldor as he trotted over to the woman and grabbed the bag as it began to slip out of the woman's grasp.  
  
"Here let me help you with this ma'am." He held the bag up allowing the older woman to straighten herself up. "Thank you dear. My age seems to finally be catching up to me."  
  
"I'll carry this for you, just lead the way." Caldor said with a smile.  
  
The woman led them to a small house in the center of the district and directed Caldor to drop the bag. "Thank you for assistance young man. I wouldn't have a expected a young nobleman to help me."  
  
"I'm not a noble ma'am. We were just coming from Lord Hammond's Ball."  
  
"Ah, that one holds parties frequently. I'm Milly, the washerwoman of this district. Who might you be?"  
  
"I'm Caldor Erion."  
  
"And I am Sharwyn."  
  
"It's nice to meet you two." Milly said with a smile.  
  
"So...um as the washerwoman...have you been in all the houses of the district?" Caldor asked.  
  
"Oh heavens no! I haven't stepped foot into Meldanen's estate. Though years ago...ahh I shouldn't babble on."  
  
"Please continue miss." Sharwyn said.  
  
"Well when I was younger and quite a looker I might add, young master Meldanen and myself had quite a thing. He had a portal built in my house that led directly to his room. But...he doesn't have anything to do with me anymore."  
  
"Does...that portal still work?" Caldor asked anxiously.  
  
"I have no idea young man. I kept it locked behind a door in my home after I stopped seeing Meldanen. Why are you interested?" Milly asked.  
  
"We are under the orders of Lady Aribeth de Tylmarande to investigate anyone suspected of possessing property belonging to the government." Caldor told her.  
  
"Nice." Sharwyn whispered to him.  
  
"Oh, well alright dear. Here is a key to get into the room. I'll leave a key to my house under the doormat. Just leave them on the table once you're done." Milly handed him the key and grabbed the bag.  
  
"Thank you Miss Milly."  
  
"You're welcome dear. Now you should hurry home. Your date looks like she will collapse soon."  
  
Caldor looked at Sharwyn and noticed that she was indeed dozing off. "Oh heh." He picked her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Caldor turned back to Milly and nodded to her then turned in the direction of the inn.  
  
"You be careful young man." Milly picked up the bag and looked back at Caldor before going into her house.  
  
"Today has been quite exhausting. Heh, I was wondering when you were finally going to fall out..." Caldor scratched her back a little making her grumble and turn her head. He smiled as he felt her nose graze his neck.  
  
Once he reached the inn he noticed Kellisai standing at the door. She looked up from the book she was reading and waved at him.  
  
"Hey boss! You're back earlier than I expected. Oh...did Miss Sharwyn pass out on you? Too much to drink?"  
  
Caldor smiled and shook his head, "No she went to sleep after we had left the ball."  
  
"Ah," Kellisai nodded and smiled, "Well you better get her to bed then." She opened the inn door and led the way in.  
  
The tavern was still quite busy and a few patrons waved at Caldor as he entered the room. He trotted up the stairs quickly and lightly kicked the door open.  
  
"We're home..." Caldor whispered. "Well kind of." Sharwyn merely groaned and curled up tighter in his arms.  
  
He chuckled and kicked the door closed before walking over to the bed. "Alright, it's time to let go." Caldor kneeled down on the bed and began pulling Sharwyn's arms from around his neck.  
  
"No...don't want to...sing you...a song...zzzzz." She rolled out of his grasp and onto the bed with her arm still wrapped around his neck. Caldor toppled over and fell onto the bed completely, becoming pinned between the bed and her breasts.  
  
"Eeyagh!" His face quickly became red and he tried desperately to wiggle from up under her without waking her up. Every time he moved Sharwyn would wrap herself around him a little bit more.  
  
"Oh boy." Caldor finally stopped squirming and sighed. "I guess it isn't too bad...well until Sharwyn finally wakes up." There was a knock at the door and before he could answer, the door swung open. "Caldor! There are...eh." Kellisai's hand flew up to her mouth to stifle a giggle. "Not a word...what's wrong with you anyway? Don't you know that you should wait for an answer before entering?" Caldor asked grumpily.  
  
"Sorry 'bout that boss. No worries, we'll take care of it. You look...heh...rather busy."  
  
"Yea, ha ha ha, this just happened to be an accident." Caldor said as he tried to wiggle from up under Sharwyn.  
  
"Well I'm not going to ask how it happened so I'll just leave you alone then. See you tomorrow morning." Caldor scowled as he heard Kellisai laugh all the way down the hall. "Grr...time to get this damned woman off of me."  
  
"Shut up and go to sleep Caldor." Sharwyn mumbled as she gently ran her fingers through his hair.  
  
"Eh? You're awake? You planned this didn't you?" Caldor grumbled.  
  
"Oh you know you're enjoying this." Sharwyn said with a smirk. She pinched his side and smiled when he squirmed.  
  
"Yea...but I would be enjoying it more if I wasn't in a 1000 gold suit!"  
  
"Meh."  
  
"You do know your breasts are in my face right?" Caldor asked calmly.  
  
"Oh really? I had no idea! I thought it was a pillow."  
  
Caldor began whispering random obscenities under his breath then finally sighed resignedly. "Fine, be that way." He pulled his arm from under her and rearranged himself so that he was no longer in such an uncomfortable position.  
  
"I wonder what would have happened if I didn't choose you to help me out." Caldor asked her.  
  
"Well for one you wouldn't be pinned under me in these exquisite silk clothes. Oh and you can tell they were well made to, it almost seems like we're wearing nothing at all."  
  
"Okay...what the hell. You couldn't possibly be drunk. You barely drank your wine."  
  
"You know I'm just kidding with you Caldor. Don't get too excited, you might hurt yourself...or me. Heh." Sharwyn snickered and nuzzled him.  
  
"Oh ha ha m'lady! You're the one being all silly and what not. From the way things are going it would seem that you are trying to seduce me." Caldor placed his hand on her waist and tapped her on the side gently.  
  
"No I wouldn't do that..."  
  
"I know you wouldn't Sharwyn." Caldor yawned loudly and rubbed at his eyes. "We need to get to sleep. Big day tomorrow."  
  
"Yea... goodnight Caldor."  
  
"Goodnight Sharwyn."

* * *

Caldor and Sharwyn moved down the corridor quietly, hoping that no more mephits would pop out of nowhere. It had been ten minutes since they had first transported to Meldanen's bedroom and thankfully he had not been in at the time.  
  
Caldor peeked around a corner and scanned the room, "Looks like a library." He whispered back to Sharwyn. She crept up next to him and peeked over his shoulder. "Apprentice."  
  
A young man stood in the middle of the library and was reading a large tome while levitating a couple of chairs in front of him.  
  
"Hmm, how are we going to deal with this one?" Caldor asked.  
  
"Here why don't you sneak on up the wall and I'll use my charms on him. It doesn't seem that he has noticed that the estate is under attack." Sharwyn offered.  
  
"Do you think that's safe?" Caldor asked as he turned and put a hand on the wall.  
  
"Positive. Now go." She gently smacked him on his rear and started walking toward the apprentice.  
  
Caldor smirked and made his way up the wall. Once he reached the ceiling he turned to watch Sharwyn as she greeted the man.  
  
"Explain yourself woman! How did you get in here?" the apprentice eyed her warily.  
  
"The front guard let me in of course. I'm on my way to see Meldanen but I seem to have lost my way." Sharwyn answered coolly while she inspected her nails.  
  
The apprentice watched her for a moment then relaxed, "Meldanen said that no one was to be allowed in but... looking at you I can see why he may have made an exception. You know...he's rather busy at the moment so...why don't you stay here with me for a bit until he is done." He offered.  
  
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea at all." Sharwyn's licked her lips and ran her hand up the man's neck making him smirk.  
  
Caldor snorted silently and moved along the ceiling until he was hovering directly over the apprentice. He pulled himself into a low crouch then stood up, his eyes still trained on the apprentice.  
  
The apprentice, who introduced himself as Claudi, traced a finger along Sharwyn's face. She smiled and looked up at Caldor who nodded and prepared to finish him. Claudi pulled Sharwyn closer in an attempt to kiss her when Caldor made his move and grabbed him by the head. He covered the man's mouth with his other hand to prevent him from yelling out and snapped his neck quickly before dropping him. Caldor dropped down from the ceiling, landing neatly in front of Sharwyn.  
  
"Good job paladin." She whispered as she knelt down to see what the apprentice had on him.  
  
Caldor moved to the opposite door and walked down the curving hall. He peeked through the door at the end and saw Meldanen. The man paced the center of the room and occasionally peered into a caged door near the other side of the room.  
  
Sharwyn crept up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Our target is in there." He whispered.  
  
"We should introduce ourselves then." Caldor nodded and grabbed her around the waist.  
  
"What are you doing?" The paladin placed a finger over her mouth and smiled. He turned and jumped onto the wall and started moving into the room along the ceiling. Sharwyn held onto him tightly and watched Meldanen as he paced around below them. Her attention turned from him and she looked into the gated room and saw the Dryad. The small creature was curled up in the back of the room and watching Meldanen warily.  
  
The sorcerer stopped pacing then went into a side room and closed the door. Caldor dropped from the ceiling and set Sharwyn down. She ran over to gate and kneeled down.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
The Dryad looked up at her fearfully then crawled forward. "A...are you here to help me? Are you going to get me out of here?" Sharwyn nodded and looked up at Caldor.  
  
"We need a key." He said quietly as he turned and moved to an armoire on the other side of the room. Sharwyn held a finger up to her lips the walked over to a desk and began shuffling through the drawers.  
  
The Dryad watched them fearfully then looked to the door that Meldanen had entered. She saw the door open and yelled out, "Watch out!"  
  
Caldor turned quickly and unsheathed his blade. "You! You've come to take her away from me! You must die!" Meldanen swung his hand in Caldor's direction and a large fireball flew in his direction. The paladin rolled to the side and charged toward the sorcerer.  
  
Sharwyn quickly cast a paralysis spell but Meldanen resisted it and quickly began chanting while moving away from Caldor. Caldor jumped at the sorcerer and brought his sword down on him but he managed to dodge. Meldanen ran to the other side of the room and tried to continue his chanting but had to dodge a vase thrown by Caldor.  
  
Sharwyn pulled out her bow and followed Meldanen's movements as he continued to dodge Caldor's attacks. The sorcerer stopped near the entrance to his study and cast a hold spell on Caldor. The paladin stopped in mid- swing and stared at the sorcerer angrily. Meldanen smirked and raised his hand in the air, preparing to cast lightning bolt. Sharwyn smirked and aimed and shot an arrow straight through his hand.  
  
"Augh!!!!" Meldanen howled in rage. He danced around in the spot a little before he pulled the arrow out and turned his attentions to Sharwyn.  
  
"You'll pay for that!" He clenched his right hand and charged a fireball and threw it in Sharwyn's direction. The bard jumped back through a door and the fireball exploded where she was once standing. Her right arm was caught in the blast and the skin was burnt badly.  
  
"Hey asshole that hurt!" Sharwyn yelled as she clutched the burnt arm.  
  
Meldanen moved toward the room she was in and charged another fireball.  
  
"Sharwyn! He's coming! Ergh!" Caldor said as he struggled to free himself.  
  
Sharwyn stood up and ran out of the room, quickly dashing past the sorcerer. The man turned and threw the fireball but she dived forward and the fireball hit the wall near Caldor.  
  
Caldor watched helplessly as Meldanen gripped Sharwyn and held her up in the air and began crushing her. The bard cried out in pain as her ribs were crushed by the spell. The paladin struggled against the spell desperately, "Hold on I'm coming!" The hold spells effects soon began fading and Meldanen turned and held a hand up to him. "I think not boy!" He cast another hold spell but Caldor resisted. Caldor concentrated hard and roared angrily as he broke free from the spell. He rushed towards Meldanen and lunged at him. The sorcerer only managed a short yelp as he tackled him. The two men flew into the wall and crashed through it halfway. Once the sorcerer's concentration was broken, Sharwyn fell to the ground and sucked in air as she massaged her crushed ribs. "Caldor." She said weakly as she stared into the dust cloud. As the dust cloud settled she saw Caldor come out from under the rubble and turn to her. "Sharwyn!" He rushed to her side and knelt down next to her, "Are you alright? Here let me see." He gently prodded her ribs making her whimper and pull away from him. "They're broken Caldor. Hand me a potion." He nodded and dug in his bag for one and handed it to her. Caldor sat down behind Sharwyn allowing her to lean back against him as her ribs healed. She looked at the pile of rubble nearby and brushed a few strands of hair away from her face. "Is he dead?"  
  
"I don't know. I didn't check him yet." Caldor said as he wrapped a bandage around her burnt arm.  
  
The Dryad sat near the gate and clutched the metal bars tightly, watching the two intently. Caldor looked at the Dryad then at the rubble pile. "I'll check him and see if he has the key." Sharwyn nodded and he stood up and walked over to the rubble. After digging through it for a while, he found Meldanen's body and pulled him free. He checked his pulse and found that the sorcerer was dead. A few minutes of searching produced a cell key and another key.  
  
He freed the Dryad and she smiled at him. "Thank you kind paladin. How may I repay your kindness?"  
  
"Please come back with us to the Hall of Justice and help with the cure for the plague."  
  
"I know of your plague and you need but a lock of my hair for your cure. Hand me a dagger please." The Dryad told him.  
  
Caldor handed her a dagger and she cut a bit of her hair off then handed it and the dagger back to him. "Now I must go back to my tree."  
  
"How will you get back? Your tree must be miles away from here."  
  
"See that tree over there in that room? That will take me back to my tree. Farewell for now Caldor and Sharwyn. I hope we can meet again so I can reward you properly." The Dryad ran toward the tree and touched it, quickly disappearing in a flash of light.  
  
Caldor put the hair in his pack then walked over to Sharwyn and helped her up. "We've finally collected all the components. The people are saved!" Sharwyn exclaimed.  
  
Caldor nodded and pulled out the recall stone. "Lady Aribeth will be really happy to see us." Sharwyn laughed happily as they disappeared.

* * *

Aribeth covered another body as it was carried out of the Hall. She sighed and massaged her temple as she looked around the room. _'I can't stand any more of this...'_  
"M'lady we have it!" Aribeth looked toward the recall portal and smiled as Caldor and Sharwyn tumbled out of the portal and ran toward her.  
  
"We have it! Here is a lock of the Dryad's hair." He handed the hair to Aribeth and she smiled brightly. "Well done! Everyone is saved thanks to you."  
  
Fenthick and Desther came out of the Sanctuary to see what was going on. "Fenthick! We have the Dryad's hair, begin the preparations." Aribeth handed the hair to him and he smiled brightly. "It'll take a couple days to make the preparations so you two rest up. You deserve it." Fenthick shook their hands heartily.  
  
Desther snorted and walked back to the Sanctuary. Caldor glared at his retreating form and looked at Fenthick. "We were attacked again on the way to Blacklake." Caldor said.  
  
"Really? Did you find another letter like last time?" Fenthick asked.  
  
"If there was, we didn't have anytime to grab it. Caldor had been stabbed with a poisoned blade and was dieing so I had to get him out of there."  
  
"Well actually I did find a letter. I had grabbed it before I passed out and stuck it in my belt." Caldor informed.  
  
"Oh, why didn't you tell me?" Sharwyn asked.  
  
"Well I had passed out and forgotten about it and found it again earlier this morning. Sorry I didn't mention it earlier."  
  
Sharwyn smiled and shook her head, "No matter, let's see what it says." Caldor handed the letter to Fenthick and he quickly read it. "Oh my! This says that there was someone from the inside working with this cult. We have a traitor in our midst!"  
  
"I bet it is Desther and his fake Helmites!" Caldor growled.  
  
"You have no proof." Sharwyn reminded him.  
  
"I know..."  
  
"I wouldn't doubt it as a possibility. No matter now, we have a cure to make. Thanks for your help you two. Go on and rest. The city is in your debt." Aribeth hugged them both and followed Fenthick to a back room.  
  
Caldor waited for the pair to leave then turned to Sharwyn and pulled her into a bear hug. "Ha ha! We are finally done!"  
  
"Yes yes we are done. Now please put me down before you crush my ribs again." Sharwyn said happily. Caldor put her back down on the ground and smiled. "So what do you want to do now?"  
  
"Let's get something to eat and go back to the inn. I want to take a long bath and rest tonight." Sharwyn told him.  
  
"That sounds wonderful. Can I watch?" Sharwyn smacked his arm and he laughed. "I jest m'lady. Let's get you fed then." Caldor said as he walked toward the door. Sharwyn grinned ran towards him, jumping onto his back. "I'd like to be carried again if you don't mind. Nobility shouldn't have to walk so much."  
  
Caldor snorted and flipped her over into his arms. "Noble? I don't see any nobles here. Just a beautiful bard." Sharwyn smiled and hugged him. "Heh, where do you want to eat anyway?"  
  
"Hm, I don't know. How about..."  
  
"No, we are not going there. Pick somewhere else."  
  
"But Caldor we can-"  
  
"No! We aren't going back there. Don't make me drop you."  
  
Sharwyn's cheerful giggling mingled with Caldor's complaining as he walked out into the bright noon sun.

* * *

Marise inspected the sweater she was working on finally smiling in satisfaction."Ah yes, I think he will be very pleased with this." 

A sharp knock on the door startled her and she stared at the door a moment before she answered. "Who is it?"

"It's me mother."

"Ah Sharwyn! Come in dear, come in!"

Sharwyn opened the door slowly and waved at her mother. Marise smiled and beckoned her daughter inside. She automatically noticed that something was missing and looked at her daughter curiously.

"Sharwyn where is Caldor?"

"He's at the inn. He was sleeping when I left so I decided not to bother him. I wanted to speak to you alone anyway." Sharwyn told her as she sat down on the sofa across from Marise.

"Oh, alright dear. So what's on your mind, hmm?" Marise smiled and set the sweater aside.

A slight flush appeared on her face and she stared at the table. "Yea…I wanted to ask you for… a little advice. As you know I had left here with Dannen and due to some rather…upsetting circumstances, Dannen is not with me-"

"Did that boy break your heart? I knew he was no good for you. Poor girl. You should tell Caldor so he can straighten him out!"

"No mother it's not what you think. These circumstances were completely out of our control. But that is not the point. The point is that I still love him but…" Sharwyn trailed off making her mother stare at her strangely.

"Let me guess dear…you still love Dannen but you are either falling or have fallen in love with Caldor correct?" Marise asked calmly.

Sharwyn nodded and closed her eyes, "I don't know what to do mother."

"What is your heart telling you to do?"

Sharwyn stared at the threadbare rug under the table. "I don't know."

Marise sat back in her chair then stood up and walked into the kitchen. Sharwyn watched her mother leave then leaned back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. Above her head the wood of the roof bulged slightly, a sign that significant water damage had occurred, most likely from the recent shower. She felt a tiny droplet of water hit her nose and she sighed. Marise came out of the kitchen again and sat a tray down with a teapot and two cups.

Marise poured a little into one of the cups and handed it to Sharwyn.

"Now dear, I know you may think that I'm not the romantic type but…I did love your father very much-"

"Wait…you actually loved my father? What…but if you loved him why did you leave him?"

"Yes… you see even though I loved your father, I loved material things more."

Sharwyn rolled her eyes and sat back sipping at her tea bitterly, "Never mind, continue."

"As I was saying. I loved your father though he had an extremely bad habit of getting himself into some serious trouble. Throughout his life as a professional thief he had racked up quite a number of enemies. Quite a few of them were extremely dangerous criminals. Oh, but he was so sweet and witty and brave. Hmm…. despite what my brain was telling me I couldn't help myself and I was soon pregnant with you. When your father found out he proposed and we were wed."

"Wait a minute…mom this isn't helping at all. All I've learned is that my father was a thief and that you loved him...I guess. How is this story going to help me?" Sharwyn asked in irritation.

"If you would have some patience and let me finish. Anyway one day your father left to do a job and left me to think about my situation. The life of a rogue's wife wasn't exactly very profitable and I was also thinking about your future. On that same day your stepfather came into town and he took notice of me. He offered my unborn child and I the world if I left with him to his estate in Neverwinter. That was when I made my decision to leave your father for Reginald." Marise sighed and looked into her cup of tea.

"But thinking back on it now after all these years…I should have never left Jerald. Not only would I have still been with the love of my life but we might have led a much better life."

"What do you mean mother?" Sharwyn stared at her mother curiously. If her father was a criminal how could their life have been better?

"I found out later that your father had become one of the richest crime bosses in the Sword Coast and retired to a life of luxury in the south. Unfortunately he was killed by one of his old rivals but if I had been there for him…he'd still be alive and we would be a family." Marise bit her lip and wiped at the tears that came to her eyes.

Sharwyn frowned and watched her mother. "Mom I don't understand."

Marise shook her head and looked up at her daughter, "Listen to your heart when it comes to love!"

The bard raised an eyebrow and looked away from her mother. She stood and walked toward the door.

"Mother…it's nice to know about what happened between you and dad but I still don't know what to do. I'll just get going and see Lady Aribeth."

"Sharwyn stop. Who do you love more? Caldor or Dannen?" Sharwyn stopped in her tracks and stared at the door. She rested her hand on the doorsill and leaned forward to rest her head on the cracked wood. "I don't know."

"Well you better decide soon. You'll never have another chance with Caldor if you are indecisive."

Sharwyn looked back at her mother and watched her intently.

"Caldor is a good man Sharwyn. He will love and take care of you. I'm sure. You're a strong woman and you need a strong man."

Sharwyn stiffened and looked back at the door. _'That's the same thing that man said.'_

"I…I have to go mother."

"Alright dear. Be safe and please think about what I told you. Oh and be sure to send Caldor my way. I have something for him." Marise saw that her daughter was upset about something but decided not to pursue it further.

Sharwyn closed the door behind her quickly and leaned against the door heavily. She covered her face with her hand and bit her lip. After a few moments she straightened up and headed to the Hall of Justice.

As she reached for the handles the door flew open and Aribeth almost ran into her.

"Oh Sharwyn, how are you doing?" She asked with a bright smile. She wasn't in her usual armor and looked like a normal citizen in her simple blue tunic and pants.

"I was just coming to see you." Sharwyn said quietly.

Aribeth watched her for a moment and rested her hand on Sharwyn's shoulder. "Come on to my house and we can talk."

Sharwyn silently followed her to a small brick house in the western corner of the City Core.

Aribeth's home was simple and modestly decorated. A small painting of her and Fenthick rested on a nearby table. Sharwyn picked it up and a small smile formed on her lips.

"Do you like it? Fenthick and I had it made a week before the plague hit Neverwinter."

Aribeth walked into the living area and sat down on the sofa and beckoned Sharwyn over.

Once Sharwyn sat down Aribeth put an arm around her shoulders and smiled. "Now, tell me what's wrong."

Sharwyn took a deep breath and clasped her hands together in her lap. "Well…heh seems I've somehow gotten myself into one hell of a mess." She brushed a few strands of hair out of her face and sighed.

"Before I came back to Neverwinter I was with someone. He is a bard named Dannen and my first love. Due to the manipulations of a certain witch we are not together at the moment so I'm here visiting my mother until I can find a solution. I was planning on going back to help him once I was done here but…I met Caldor. Due to spending so much time in his company I have grown quite fond of him. Actually, I'm very fond of him."

"Okay so you love him…what's the problem." Aribeth asked innocently.

"Well I love two men, that's the problem. What should I do?"

"What does your heart tell you to do?"

Sharwyn furrowed her brow and rolled her eyes skyward. "Everyone keeps telling me that!"

"Well of course, this is you're heart we're talking about here. Now, what do you think you should do?"

"I feel…that I should go back and help Dannen. I…but when I'm with Caldor it feels so right…so right that I just want to forget the past and stay with him." Sharwyn squeezed her hands and stared ahead of her.

"You have to decide…who do you love more?"

"I don't know! I don't know…I love them both. I love them both so damn much!" Sharwyn buried her face in her hands and cried. Aribeth's expression softened and she rested her hand on Sharwyn's back.

"I'm… just too indecisive!" she whispered softly. Sharwyn wiped her eyes and glanced at Aribeth. "I shouldn't have come back…"

"Do you really think so? Is it that bad?" Aribeth asked.

Sharwyn looked at her but didn't answer.

"I've never met this Dannen guy but he must be quite something if you can't decide to keep him or Caldor. This witch must have done something and he's with her right now. Doesn't really sound like someone I'd hang on to. I'd go with Caldor."

"But you don't know the whole story." Sharwyn told her.

"Nonetheless, if he is with her, whether it be by choice or not, he isn't worth it."

"Aribeth!"

"No, Caldor is with you now. Why would you throw away a chance with him just to go back to someone who might not even care about you anymore?"

Sharwyn stared at her silently. Aribeth smiled at her and stood up.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to Caldor? I'm sure he misses you."

Sharwyn nodded and smiled. "Thank you."

"It is no problem. You just take care of your man."

Sharwyn laughed and waved to Aribeth as she walked out the door.

* * *

Caldor lazily flicked at the fly that had landed on his nose. _'Blasted insect! Why won't it get eaten by a bird or something.'_

He watched the fly as it lazy floated around his head. It finally decided to rest on his knee and he grinned. He raised his hand slowly until it was right under the fly but out of its sight. Quick as a flash he reached up and flicked the fly off his knee and over the balcony.

"Nice."

Caldor rested his hands behind his head and took a deep breath. "I don't remember the last time I got to relax like this." He closed his eyes and smiled.

"About damn time in all honesty."

He scratched lazily at the dragon tattoo and looked out over the district. The warm summer heat was making him sleepy and he couldn't help but yawn.

"I guess I'll take a little nap." He mumbled as he closed his eyes.

Sharwyn opened the door slowly and quietly peeked into the room. She noticed the curtains billowing and looked towards the balcony. The door was open and she saw Caldor stretched out on the velvet pillow top bench. His chest rose and fell slowly as he slept.

She couldn't help but smile and walked into the room slowly. She walked out to the balcony and set her bags down on the ground next to the bench and sat down.

She watched him quietly and smiled.

_'He looks so cute when he's asleep.'_

Caldor groaned and cracked an eye open.

"Hello sleepy head."

"Hello. Did you have fun today?"

Sharwyn nodded and walked her fingers across his chest. He laughed and smiled at her.

"You went shopping today didn't you? What did you buy?"

She reached down into the bag and pulled out a blue gray silk shirt. "This is for you."

"Oh nice." Caldor sat up and put it on. "Oh look at this, plenty of buttons." He leaned back and grinned at Sharwyn.

"Well are you going to button it up?" Sharwyn asked while trying to keep from laughing.

"Nope."

Sharwyn shook her head and lay down on the bench next to him. "There are more shirts for you in the bag."

"Did you buy yourself anything?" Caldor asked as he smoothed his hair back.

"Yes, just a few things. Oh and I went to see my mother today. She wants you to come by her house. She has something for you."

"Ah, how did you know my size anyway?"

"I remembered it from when Frank took your measurements."

Caldor raised an eyebrow and reached over and grabbed the bag. "I wonder what that says about our relationship." He smirked at Sharwyn making her smile.

His expression fell serious and he lay down next to her. "Sharwyn, I want to be serious with you for a moment."

Sharwyn watched him quietly and nodded her head.

"Alright… um… do you…love me?"

The directness of the question startled Sharwyn immensely and she sat up and turned away from him.

Caldor looked around and sat up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No it's alright Cal, I just wasn't expecting that."

He rested a hand on her shoulder and she looked back at him. She opened her mouth to say something but decided against it. "If you don't want to answer that's okay. Heh, I don't know what I was thinking."

He turned away from her and looked up at the sky. "You're probably still with that Dannen guy…"

It felt like an icy hand had taken hold of her heart and was steadily squeezing it. She could hear the hurt in his voice. Tears threatened to fall again but she shook it away.

She turned to him and her hand hovered over his shoulder, "Caldor…"

He didn't turn to look at her. Instead he looked down at the ground then sighed. "Maybe…I'll go see your mother now. It's still light out." He made to stand up but Sharwyn stopped him. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I didn't mean to hurt you…it's just… I'm confused about some things at the moment. When I figure them out I'll give you my answer okay." Caldor could hear her voice trembling. He touched her arms and nodded.

He felt her lean forward onto his back and her grip tighten a little. The tiny sniffle alerted him that she was really upset.

"Sharwyn?"

"It's alright. I've been a mess all day." Her arms fell from around his neck allowing him to turn around. Sharwyn turned away from him to hide her face. A few tears had snuck out. He gently stroked her arm then moved his hand up to her cheek. She looked at him sadly and he smiled at her.

"How long has it been since we first met?" he asked quietly.

"A…month? It went by so quickly…"

"Only one month and I've fallen madly in love with you. Don't you think that's strange?"

"Not at all. I'm 'miss love at first sight' remember?" She smiled and placed her hand over his. "Soon I'll have my answer for you Caldor. You won't be disappointed." She leaned forward and kissed him softly. Sharwyn pulled away from him quickly before he could react and stood up. She turned and walked into the room, turning to glance at him briefly while brushing her hair away from her face and disappearing further into the suite.

Caldor stared after her for a few moments longer then stood up and buttoned up his shirt.

"I'm going out now. I'll… see you later then."

When she didn't answer, he sighed and walked out the door.

* * *

Marise smiled as she put the finishing touches on the coat, glancing occasionally at the front door. She paused a moment to take a sip of her tea before returning her attention to the coat. Her tongue poked out the side of her mouth a little as she finished up the stitching on the collar. 

"Ah yes! This is a fine coat indeed." Marise smiled triumphantly at her handiwork and gently folded it up and placed it on a small table next to her chair.

A sharp rap at the door alerted her that her guest had finally arrived. "Come on in dear."

The door opened slowly and Caldor poked his head in. "Hello ma'am."

"Come in here young man! Don't hover outside my door." Marise said with a smile.

Caldor chuckled and entered the small house quickly, shutting the door behind him.

"Here…this is for you." Marise handed him the coat.

"You… really made this for me?" Caldor asked as he unfolded the coat and looked it over. It was dark grey and reached down to the tops of his knees. He tried it on and found that it wasn't a snug fit and was a tad loose. It still fit him well enough and he removed it, draping it over his arm.

"Of course."

"I thank you, m'lady. 'Tis a fine coat." He said quietly.

Marise watched him stare at the coat, gently rubbing it between his fingers.

"Something troubles you. No doubt it has to do with my daughter."

"Am I really that transparent?" he whispered.

"Come over here…poor boy." Caldor walked to her side and knelt down next to her. Marise placed her hand on his head and smiled at him.

"She just needs a little time that's all. Oh my, I wish I understood that daughter of mine better. She's only making it hard on her self. The answer is in front of her all the time." Caldor looked up at her and smiled a little.

"I do hope she makes up her mind soon before it makes her sick. You two are so perfect together. Oh… you two would have such beautiful children…"

Caldor blushed and tried to keep himself from laughing.

"What are you laughing at? I'm serious! I would like to see some grandchildren before I die."

"Maybe you should be talking to your daughter about grandchildren."

"I know dear." Marise sighed and patted his head. "You should get going. I need to take a nap."

Caldor nodded and kissed the top of Marise's hand, "My thanks again for the coat."

Marise laughed and waved him away. "Go on you."

Caldor stood up and bowed then walked out the door briskly.

Marise shook her head. _'That girl would be a fool not to choose him.'_

Caldor looked around the district as he exited Marise's house. Ever since it had been announced that the cure was in the works the place seemed completely different. People were coming out of their houses and beginning to rebuild the city. Businesses had opened up again and life seemed to be returning to normal for the people.

Any citizens that recognized him patted him on the back and offered him drinks and money. He politely declined and continued to make his way through the city core. He looked up at the sky and sighed as dark rain clouds rolled over the city.

_'It was clear not too long ago.'_

He slipped on his coat and pulled the hood up over his head. Caldor raised an eyebrow as he adjusted the coat. "Damn…I can barely see under this thing."

He slipped his hands into his pockets and continued toward Blacklake district.

The former residents had reoccupied the servant's quarters and the deranged infected men had either been killed or subdued. Now the area was in the process of being rebuilt.

The builders waved to Caldor as he walked past them. He forced himself to smile and hid his face further under the hood.

Quickening his pace, he soon reached his destination. The rain was coming down in torrents now so he began running back to the inn. As he was running he hit a slippery portion of the road and fell face forward into the watermill stream.

He pushed himself up and frowned. Smoothing his hair back away from his face he stood and looked up at the sky. "Nice." He growled.

Caldor continued towards the inn and yanked the door open as he neared it.

"Oh hey bo-" Kellisai stopped as Caldor glared at her.

"Um…right."

He stiffly walked up the stairs, grumbling all the way.

"Hmm…wonder what's bothering him."

"Looks like he is in serious need of some companionship if you know what I mean." The bartender snickered as he leaned against the bar.

Kellisai flicked a peanut at him and rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't be saying that if he was down here right now."

"Of course not! Do I look suicidal to you?"

Kellisai giggled and continued to eat her peanuts.

* * *

Sharwyn hugged the pillow tightly as she stared outside. The rain could be considered almost soothing if she could keep herself focused on it. Her train of thought always switched back to Caldor, preventing her from thinking about anything else. She was hungry and thirsty but she didn't care. He was all she could think about. 

Sharwyn had made up her mind shortly after he had left to see her mother. The very idea that it would be difficult to choose between him and Dannen seemed preposterous when she thought about it.

'_I know my mother will be thrilled when she finds out…she would no doubt slap me on the head and wonder what was wrong with me for not knowing this sooner. I wonder how that visit went anyway.'_

She heard the sharp creak as the door opened and turned her head to look. The first thing she noticed was that Caldor was wet and irritated.

_'I wonder why he looks so angry. It couldn't have been my mother, she adores him.'_

She sat up and looked at him, offering a tiny smile.

"What's the matter sweetheart?"

His irate expression faded slightly as he looked in her direction. He grinned a little and scratched the back of his head. "I slipped."

Sharwyn rolled off the bed and walked over to him. "Look at you…you're soaked. Take these wet clothes off before you become ill." Sharwyn helped him out of his coat and hung it near the fireplace.

Caldor looked down at his shirt and grimaced. He began unbuttoning it and looked over at Sharwyn. "Will this shirt be okay?"

Sharwyn smiled at him as she took the shirt from him. "The shirt will be fine. All we have to do is hang it up to dry." She told him as she walked over to where his coat was hanging.

"Okay." He hooked his thumbs on the waist of his pants and rocked on his heels.

Sharwyn watched him, gently tapping her foot on the ground. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Are you not going to take those off?"

"What? Right now? Here?"

"Um…yes." Sharwyn stated in a matter of fact manner.

Caldor stared at her for a moment then laughed, "Nice one. These aren't that wet, I'll be fine."

"Caldor, those pants are soaked through! Take them off now or I'll have to yank them off myself."

The thought made him grin and he crossed his arms in a defiant manner, "I'd love to see you try."

Sharwyn rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Fine be that way. I hope you get sick too you big knucklehead. I'm going downstairs to get myself something to drink."

She leisurely walked towards the door. Caldor watched her from the corner of his eye but didn't budge from his spot on the floor. As she reached for the doorknob, Sharwyn glanced at Caldor and grinned. Turning quickly she lunged at him hoping to catch him off guard.

Quick as a flash, Caldor twisted around and lifted Sharwyn up by the waist. She squeaked in dismay as he grinned at her and ran towards the bed. He jumped up and landed on his back, laughing at Sharwyn when she smacked him on the chest.

"You nut!"

"Well you were going to tackle me. What was I supposed to do? Stand there?"

"Yes." Sharwyn picked her disheveled self up from off the bed and straddled him, "Yes you were."

"Ah." Caldor sat up on his elbows and looked up at her.

Sharwyn smirked at him and stretched her arms up over her head, revealing her midriff.

"Um hmm…you do know you're teasing me again right?"

"I am not teasing you Cal. Let's just say I'm…revealing what is rightfully yours."

This caught his full attention and he quirked his head to the side. "So…"

"Yes, I've decided already. Well I decided not to long after you left. I have no idea what I was thinking…I love you Caldor. With all my heart." She smiled at him.

Caldor could barely contain his joy and hugged her tightly. Sharwyn laughed and patted him on the head.

"I mean really Caldor, was there really a doubt?"

"For a second there…" He looked at her and offered a lopsided grin, "yea… kind of."

"Ha ha, no. My mother would have me committed to a mental hospital if I had said otherwise."

Caldor looked at her for a moment and smiled, "You know…when I went to see your mother she informed me that…uh…she thought we would have beautiful children one day. Isn't that funny?"

Sharwyn stared at him for a second and her expression softened, "You know…we probably would."

"Yea…perhaps. Hmm…"

The two sat in silence for a short period, staring each other with small smiles.

Telling Caldor how she felt had lifted a great weight off Sharwyn's shoulders. Looking at him now made it all the better.

Caldor didn't know what to think. His mind was in so many states of happiness he almost felt like an idiot. _'Damn, I feel like the luckiest man alive.'_

"You know…I could consider this the best day of my life." He told her quietly.

"I could say the same." Sharwyn smiled at Caldor and leaned down to kiss him. She bit his bottom lip gently and pinched his waist.

"Oh... you want to get rough huh? I'll show you rough." He rolled over on top of her and started biting her neck, making her laugh. Sharwyn wiggled from under him and rolled away from him on the bed. Caldor smirked and lunged at her. They both ended up rolling off the bed; giggling like children in the tangle of limbs they found themselves in.

"Heh, you nut…"


	5. Chapter 4

Author's note: Hope you readers out there are enjoying reading this. Heh, I guess I would judge this as the best bit of fiction I've written to date. I don't really know if this is getting boring at times or not. Any input would be nice in case anything needs to be improved.

_A hooded figure stood atop the low building facing the Board Laid Bare. He smiled in satisfaction as he watched the two young lovers laugh and play around in their suite._

"_Ah, everything is falling into place nicely."_

"_What are you doing here you old fool? The clan is worried about you!"_

_The figure turned around swiftly as he looked at the displeased woman standing behind him. The woman didn't seem to be bothered at all by the rain as she stared daggers at him._

"_Daughter, what are you doing here? Do you not have children you should be watching over?"_

"_I have not forgotten about them father. The real question is what are you doing here?"_

_The figure turned and pointed in the direction of the Inn. "Look in that window there. Who do you see?"_

_The woman stared hard at the two figures and gasped in surprise. "That's my nephew Caldor! Who is that woman he is with? I thought he was here helping not getting familiar with women."_

"_He has helped. He and his companion are just taking a little break until they are needed again. In any case that woman there, Sharwyn, is the very important piece that I was telling you about."_

_She stared at the two for a moment, finally smiling. "I see...that's what you have been doing here. Playing matchmaker again hmm."_

_The man, Jinkej, stared at his offspring indignantly. "What nonsense are you speaking? Caldor happened to do all of this on his own. I only helped the girl make up her mind a little when she was in doubt."_

"_Ah I see. Well since your crusade is done you should come with me back to the clan. Your son is having a fit wondering where you are." _

"_Mm...fine then let us go. That son of mine is quite a nag. He must have gotten it from his mother." Jinkej tossed the heavy cloak away and stretched out his wings. His daughter jumped off the roof and soared high into the sky with her father in tow. _

Oleff smiled brightly as he waved Caldor and Sharwyn over. "Ah! I'm glad you both made it. Everyone is inside the ritual chamber waiting for you. Each person here at the Hall would like to thank you for everything you two have done for the city."

Oleff bowed before them and stepped aside allowing them to head into the ritual chamber.

Aribeth and Fenthick waved and ran up to greet them. "Right on time. We're almost ready to begin. Lord Nasher would like to congratulate you two on a job well done."

Desther strolled up to them, eyeing each person with barely contained disdain. "Well paladin, do you now believe that my Helmites and I are not the enemy?"

"Of course not. There is still one act left in the play, plenty of time for your players to perform their final act..." Caldor drew his sword a little from his sheath, "But do not think that I will be so foolish as to let you get away with it."

Desther smirked, "Think whatever you want paladin. You will be proven a fool eventually."

Caldor frowned at him and sheathed his sword. "We shall see." He brushed past Desther and walked over to where Lord Nasher was sitting.

Sharwyn glared at Desther in disgust before following Caldor to Nasher's side.

Aribeth rolled her eyes at him, "I will be glad when this is over with so you and your group can finally leave my city."

He merely smirked at her as she walked off.

Fenthick walked around Desther and stood in front him, "Really nice. Do you have to treat everyone in such a disrespectful manner?"

"Well they aren't exactly treating with much respect at the moment either. Especially that paladin."

"He has his reasons. You didn't make a very good first impression."

"There is no time for this, we have a cure to make." Desther turned curtly and walked to his designated position in the center of the chamber.

Fenthick frowned and walked to the opposite side. _'I can't believe this.'_

Caldor bowed before Lord Nasher respectfully.

"So you are the mighty paladin I've heard so much about." Nasher shook Caldor's hand heartily. "You certainly look the part."

He nodded in Desther's direction and centered his focus again on the paladin. "I see that you and the Watchknight don't get along very well. Difference of opinion?"

"More like a difference of religion." Caldor snorted as he glanced at Desther. "He isn't who he says he is."

Nasher looked up at the man and studied the expression on his face. It was a mix of a calm and barely checked fury. Like a cat ready to pounce on its pray, Caldor silently watched Desther. Waiting.

"Hmmm...begin." Nasher ordered as his attention focused back to the task at hand.

The priests raised their arms in the air and began chanting.

Caldor watched Desther the whole time, barely moving. Occasionally his eyes flicked around the room waiting for someone to appear and halt the ritual.

Sharwyn looked up at him. "Caldor..."

"Yes." He glanced down at her.

"Something is going to happen, isn't there?" She asked quietly.

"Something always does."

With the final explosion of light, the cure was at last done and the priests smiled and shook each other's hands.

"We finally have the cure!" Fenthick said excitedly as he smiled at Aribeth.

"You're right Fenthick but...I have the cure." Desther barely masked his glee as he ran forward and swiped the cure.

"I knew it!" Caldor unsheathed his sword as he rushed toward the cleric, preparing to separate his head from his neck.

"Now my brethren!" Four of the false Helmites appeared in the room and began attacking the priests.

"As for you!" Desther turned and held his hand out towards Caldor. He caught the paladin in a hold spell and threw him back forcefully towards the throne.

Nasher barely managed to jump out of his throne as Caldor went straight through it and into the wall. He made a sickening crunch sound as he flew into the wall and fell down to the ground. Crumbled chunks of brick fell around him.

"Caldor!" Sharwyn rushed to his prone form and knelt down next to him. She looked back at Desther angrily and threw a fireball at him. He easily dodged it and summoned a portal. "Hah this city will die fools!" He yelled insanely as he dived into the portal.

"No!" Fenthick followed him and before he could be stopped, jumped in after him.

Aribeth dived towards the portal and began concentrating hard as it began to close.

Guards rushed into the room and dispatched the traitors then ran to their Lord's side.

"One of you priests get over here and heal Caldor! He has to go after those traitors. You, get the Captain of the Guard and any extra guards out there who aren't doing anything at the moment."

Nasher looked down at the paladin and knelt next to him. "He is still alive right?" He asked Sharwyn.

She nodded and tried rolling him over onto his back. Caldor howled in pain and tried to wave her away. "Agh...damn it! I'm...going to kill...that rat bastard!" He tried to sit up but fell back down. His right arm and left wrist were broken.

"Don't move you'll just make it worse."

"My back..."He whispered.

A cleric rushed over to Caldor and knelt down to check his injuries. "Poor man...almost every bone in his body has been broken or fractured. Greater Restoration should do the trick friend. Hold still now."

"Do I look like I can move?" Caldor grumbled as the cleric held his hand over him.

The cleric chanted in a low voice and his hand glowed a soft blue light as Caldor's skeleton began to mend. The paladin groaned as he flexed his left hand.

Once the healing was done Caldor picked himself up off ground and growled in a low voice, "Where... is he?"

Sharwyn pointed to the portal that Aribeth was holding open.

Caldor picked up his sword and jumped into the portal. He barely heard Aribeth as he went through. "...Fenthick."

Sharwyn rushed up to Aribeth and looked at her friend.

"Go on! Desther must be stopped...I can't believe I didn't see this coming."

"Caldor did..."

Aribeth shook her head and sighed, "Watch out for those two. I'll try to explain Fenthick's actions to those who ask but there isn't much hope. Everyone will call him traitor alongside with Desther."

"Caldor won't allow Fenthick to be taken down with that bastard." Sharwyn jumped into the portal leaving Aribeth alone.

Within a few minutes of seeming to fall forever, Sharwyn found herself standing at the edge of a river before a broken wooden bridge. She looked around and noticed a two-story house not too far away. As she ran towards it, she heard two men talking from the rear of the building.

"Look...I'm searching for an older looking human, grey hair, and the ugliest face you've ever seen in Watchknight attire."

"Helmite? Yes there are plenty of them around here. We're not too far away from Helm's Hold you know."

"Yes I know that but I want to know if you've seen the guy I'm talking about."

"The only person that passed by here was good man Desther. This elven fellow was running after him yelling for him to stop and bring back the cure or something like that."

"Yes! That's who I'm looking for. Which way did he go?"

"Ah good man Desther. Nice fellow. As he and his fellows were leaving for Neverwinter he told me to destroy this bridge so that none of the disease carriers could infect us."

Caldor stared at the man in disbelief, his jaw slightly ajar. He clenched his fist and rubbed his temple in irritation. "Okay let's try this again. Where is DESTHER?"

The small man quaked in fear and backed away from him, "N...no need ta yell there."

Sharwyn placed a hand on Caldor's shoulder and he backed down from the man.

"Sorry about that sir. He's just a little on edge today. But please, it is really important that you tell us where Desther went. He has something very important that belongs to the city of Neverwinter."

"Well he headed back that way through that opening in the fores-"

"Thanks!" Sharwyn grabbed Caldor by the hand and they both ran towards the gap. Once they reached the glade they noticed that a few undead were milling about the area.

Once the undead noticed that they were coming, ragged war cries rattled from what was left of their throats and they rushed towards them with weapons raised.

Caldor glared at the undead and glanced at Sharwyn, "Just ignore them."

Sharwyn nodded and dodged out of the way as the zombie warrior swung at her with its mace. She twisted around and tossed a hard stone at the zombie's temple before disappearing into the nearby cave.

Caldor ran around the skeleton warrior, grabbing it by the arm and spinning it around. He jumped into the air and kicked the skeletons head off and into the zombie. The monster fell backwards over a thick tree root and over a low cliff. The skeleton stumbled around blindly before running into a tree and falling over.

The paladin didn't wait for the two creatures to attempt to come after him and ran into the cave after Sharwyn.

"Looks like we are in a prison." Sharwyn told him as he walked up next to her.

"Mm..." Caldor looked around the dungeon slowly. When he heard a small whimper he peeked behind a pile of boxes and pulled up a small boy by his collar.

"Hello there little man."

The boy uncovered his eyes and looked up at Caldor. He stared at him then wiped his eyes, smiling once he looked at him again.

"Caldor!" The boy wriggled out of his grasp and hugged him, "Ah! I'm so glad you are back! Everything has gone insane ever since that Desther guy and his crew showed up. They killed everyone! Th...they... killed my dad."

Caldor patted the boy's head and sighed, "I'm sorry to hear that...your father was a good man..." He looked over at Sharwyn then knelt down in front of the boy.

"Are you sure everyone is dead? Did no one survive?"

The boy wiped his eyes and looked at him, "Dumal is still alive. They locked him up down here."

"Alright...you just stay here and hide. I have to find Dumal." The boy nodded and ran behind the boxes again.

Caldor stood up and turned towards the prison cells. "Come on. We have to find him."

After a few minutes of wading through the waves of zombies, they soon came upon an occupied cell.

"Dumal!" Caldor said as he rushed up to the cell and grabbed the bars.

"Ah Caldor! Helm be praised!"

"Dumal how could you let this happen?"

"I don't know! They were quite convincing. They must have done thorough research. Ugh, if you had been here this would never have happened. You do not seem to get excited enough about festivities to be unperceptive."

"That's true you know." Sharwyn alleged.

Caldor glanced at her curiously, "Uh huh."

"Yes, anyway. Go back out to the front gates. You should be able to recruit some support from the guardians." Caldor nodded and inspected the gates; "We need to get you out of here first."

"No don't worry about me! You have to get Desther!"

Sharwyn pushed Caldor out of the way and pulled out some lock picks. After fiddling with the gates for a few seconds the door swung open and she turned to Caldor.

"Alright, see you later Dumal."

The pair ran through the dungeon again and out of the cave all the way to the north where the front gate was located.

After a brief conversation with a shadowy female, Caldor opened the gate and stared at the courtyard in shock. Corpses littered the whole area. It had been a massacre. Caldor swallowed hard and rubbed his temple with his thumb.

"Caldor?" Sharwyn whispered as she rubbed his back.

"I'm fine..." He looked around the courtyard and noticed a small glimmer on a corpse not too far from where they were standing. Caldor walked over to the corpse and knelt down next to it. He saw a small-etched stone resting on the ground and picked it up. Caldor stared at the corpse a moment then gently turned it over.

He quickly backed away from the corpse on his hands and feet, staring at it in shock. It was his friend Tomas. It looked like he had been beaten before he was gutted. His organs were smashed against his chest and were shriveled. He had been dead for a good while.

He stared at the body, shaking his head slowly. "Not like this... Not like this."

Caldor pinched the top of his nose, still shaking his head. He shuddered and swallowed back a sob. Sharwyn watched him and knelt down next to him when she saw a tear escape from under his fingers.

"Oh gods, he was a friend of yours wasn't he?"

Caldor covered his face and gritted his teeth hard.

He stood up on his feet unsteadily and drew his sword, "He was my best friend!"

Caldor spun around and ran towards the front door.

Zombies and skeletons stood upright as he approached and growled at him. His sword arm trembled as he stared the monsters down. Without warning he raised his arms into the air and let out an enraged yell. Holy light circled around him and engulfed the whole area.

Sharwyn shielded her eyes from the light, trying her best to catch a glimpse of him from under her arm.

As the light receded, she caught sight of him. Any of the undead that hadn't died instantly stumbled around in terror, trying their best to avoid Caldor as he chased them around reducing them to rotting meat and bones.

He kicked a final zombie in the back then ran it through. Lifting the sword up he swung it around, tossing the zombie away from him. Caldor let his sword fall a little and hunched over it.

Sharwyn ran up and stooped in front of him.

"I'm going to kill them Sharwyn. They will all pay for this. I'll die before I let them get away with this."

"Send them to the hells where they belong." She whispered.

Caldor closed his eyes and straightened up. He kicked the front door open and tossed the etched-stone onto the stone hand alter. The guardians instantly came to life and turned to look at him. "Kill the intruders." He growled.

The guardians clanked in unison and vanished through the door leading to the rest of the Hold.

Caldor chased after them with his sword ready, prepared to massacre any false Helmite that stood in his path.

Sharwyn sighed and followed him, _'This is his fight...I should just stay out of the way.'_

She could hear the sounds of battle in the distance. Caldor and the guardians were taking out what was left of Desther's party quickly. The men were putting up a pretty good fight but Caldor came at them with such ferocity, that the clerics barely had enough time to fire off their spells at him.

Caldor directed the four guardians to different rooms ordering them to kill any hostiles they encountered.

The last cult member that Caldor found received the bulk of his rage.

Sharwyn turned the corner into the room he was in slowly and watched as he fought the cleric. The man was short but strongly built. He looked like the type of man that could easily instill fear in anyone that angered him.

In the presence of Caldor, however, the tables were turned and he tried everything he could to avoid the paladin.

"No please! Mercy!" The man covered his bloody nose and held his arm up defensively as he huddled back in a corner.

Caldor grabbed the man by the collar roughly and hoisted him up against the wall, "MERCY? You dare ask for mercy? Were you merciful to my friend when you gutted him like a pig?" Caldor tossed the man away from him and followed his form as he slid across the bloody floor. The man scrambled to his feet and grabbed a mace off the floor.

"How would you know if I killed whoever you're talking about? You have no proof?" The man screamed at him as he held the weapon out in front of him in a defensive manner.

Caldor held up a gold studded dagger and curled his lip in contempt, "This is my proof right here. I gave this to Tomas as a gift. He never let it out of his sight or off his person. And here I find it in your possession." He kicked the man hard in the stomach, sending him flying into a nearby desk. Caldor jumped onto the man and began beating him in the face, "You'll suffer for what you did to him!"

"Caldor!" Sharwyn ran up to him and grabbed him by his neck, pulling him back. He grabbed her arm and pushed her away then continued beating the man. After a while the man stopped moving and lay still.

"Caldor he's dead! Stop!" Sharwyn ran up to him again and this time Caldor allowed himself to be pulled away. She pushed him away from the corpse and up against a wall.

"What is wrong with you? How could you do such...a...thing?" She stopped yelling at him once she noticed the tears fall down his cheeks. He looked down at the floor and gritted his teeth.

"Just..." He wiped the tears away from his face and walked around her, into the small summoning chamber across the hall.

Sharwyn frowned and followed him into the room. "Caldor just talk to me...." She looked up at the devil he was staring at and sighed. _'Nice.'_

"Please tell me it can't move." She said flatly.

"It can't move." He replied solemnly. Caldor turned on his heel and walked into a small room behind him. He soon came out again holding a blue leather bound book with the symbol of Helm imprinted on the cover.

He walked up to the stone alter and picked up the red book labeled the Black Grimoire that was already resting on it.

"Mortal what are you doing?" The Chaohinon growled at him.

Caldor glared up at the devil and flipped a few pages to find what he was looking for. Once he was on the correct page he began chanting the words.

The Chaohinon roared in anger as a portal opened beneath him and black tendrils grabbed its legs and dragged it down to the hells. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS MORTAL! I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER! YOUR CHILDREN WILL SUFFER! YOUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN WILL SUFFER! YOU'RE FAMILY SHALL FEEL MY WRATH! ARGH!" It howled as it disappeared along with the portal.

"Um hm... sure..." Caldor grumbled as he opened up the Book of Helm. He flipped through the book and began chanting again. A brilliant blue light filtered through the stained glass window in the ceiling of the room and a faint form began to appear where the demon once stood. The figure finally took shape as the Hold's Guardian Spirit.

Caldor walked around the stone alter and knelt down before the spirit.

"Thank you for banishing the demon and summoning me back. The false Helmites had summoned the devil here for some wicked purpose but thanks to you they will be unable to finish. For your devotion to Helm I will grant you one of three gifts. A ring, a bow, or I can increase your strength to help you on your quest."

With his head still bowed he answered, "I will take the ring..."

The spirit nodded and a small silver ring appeared on the ground in front of him. He looked it over and recognized it as a ring of elemental resistance.

"I have another gift for you brave paladin." The spirit leaned down and handed a bracer to him. "You will find it to be quite useful in your impending battle."

"Thank you..." He said quietly as he took the bracer and slipped it onto his wrist without looking up.

The spirit placed a gauntleted hand on Caldor's shoulder, "Do not despair young one. There is still much you must do. Make your friend proud." Caldor's shoulders shook as he nodded.

The spirit stood up and backed away from him, slowly fading away.

Sharwyn stared at where the Guardian spirit once was then walked up to Caldor. She placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. Caldor picked the ring up and reached up to grasp her hand. He placed the ring on her finger then let his hand fall back.

Sharwyn got down on her knees and wrapped her arms around him comfortingly.

"They killed everyone I knew...even the hopeful young boys that were here... barely beginning the process of becoming Watchers. I can't believe this...how could this have happened?" He asked quietly.

"They must have had a reason for doing this."

"There is no excuse!" He glared at her before letting his expression fall back to a neutral state and staring once again at the ground. "A senseless massacre...I'll squeeze the life out of Desther slowly."

"You have to take him back to Neverwinter Caldor."

Caldor sighed angrily, "Fine but he will be a bloody mess when I do bring him back."

Sharwyn kissed the top of his right ear and the back of his neck before resting her head on him. Caldor rubbed her arms and sighed.

"I'll never let something like this happen to you...ever. I will die before I'd let an atrocity like this be repeated."

"I know Caldor. Come on...we have to find Desther." Sharwyn stood up and backed away from the paladin.

He sighed and stood up with her, picking his sword up from off the ground.

Caldor nodded and they both ran outside then up the nearby stairs. The staircase twisted around up the tower leading them to a small landing. The room was empty except for a few scattered corpses and burn marks on the floors and walls.

Sharwyn noticed a small form huddled in the corner and she ran over to him.

"Fenthick...what happened."

The elf lifted his head up and wiped his bleeding nose, "Well I caught up with him. Then he beat me before he ran upstairs screaming maniacally about his time not being up or some such nonsense. I never was much of a hand to hand guy."

Sharwyn took a bit of linen cloth out of a med kit and began to dab at his nose a bit.

"Why have you not healed yourself yet?" Caldor asked as he sat down against the wall next to him.

"No more." Fenthick sighed and gingerly touched his blackened eye, "Even if I did, I wouldn't heal myself. I deserve this for heeding that deceitful fiend."

Caldor gritted his teeth and shook his head, "It wasn't your fault my friend. You were only trying to help the citizens and tried to look past the bastard in him hoping that he actually cared."

"I agree. In any case, all of us are to blame for not listening to Caldor when he told us otherwise. We all should have seen past it..."

Fenthick waved Sharwyn away and smiled weakly, "Go on...you have to stop him before he tries to destroy the cure."

Caldor stood up and walked toward the small set of stairs leading to a door. "He will pay for what he is done...to you...to Neverwinter...and especially to the Hold."

Sharwyn stood up and followed him.

They climbed the stairs slowly, not knowing what Desther might have left behind him to deter intruders.

Once Caldor reached the top of the stairs, he peeked around the wall and searched the hall for any movement.

"I hear low moaning...but I don't see anything." Sharwyn whispered as she looked around.

Caldor pointed to a door not far ahead then stepped out into the hall. He then turned and noticed another door. A third was at the end of the side hall.

"These two rooms here...that is most likely where the moaning is coming from." He ignored the two doors and instead walked to the end door in the short hall.

Pressing his ear against the door he listened to the subtle shuffling of feet just on the other side. He could also hear a voice. It was Desther.

"We've found our quarry." He unsheathed his door and backed away from the door. The paladin nodded at Sharwyn and he kicked the door down, knocking whatever was guarding it over.

The undead in the room stopped all movement to stare at the paladin; ready to attack once their master gave the order.

Desther glared at Caldor in shock then burst into maniacal laughter.

"I was wondering if my little spell had killed you paladin. You are stronger than I had thought. It matters not...I will kill you now." He noticed Sharwyn behind Caldor and grinned.

"Of course, it will have to be slow and painful. Ravaging your woman before your eyes before killing you would be most fitting."

It was Caldor's turn to smirk, "You really are thicker than I had thought. Sharwyn would kill you. If you want to die choking on your own hands, then just try it."

Desther frowned and spat on the ground in front of the paladin. "I do not have time to waste on such foolish things! I will not be abandoned and you... you will die for what you have done!"

Desther began casting his spells and the undead jumped at Caldor. He turned and slashed at the waist of an oncoming zombie. Caldor ducked allowing Sharwyn to jump over him and take off the head of an attacking skeleton warrior. Caldor turned to run a mummy through the chest. He pulled the sword up and split the creature's torso and head in half then kicked it away.

Sharwyn dodged the swing of a great sword wielded by a skeleton chieftain that Desther had just summoned. She backed away and twisted swiftly as the skeleton brought its weapon down on her again. The skeleton managed to nick her cheek and she barely dodged it again as it brought the sword up again in a sweeping manner. Sharwyn scrambled to the side and blocked the sword and kicked the skeleton in the spinal column. It bent backward to absorb the blow and clawed at her face, leaving three deep gashes on her left cheek.

She growled at the skeleton and brought one side of her sword around hitting the skeleton's shoulder then turned to sweep the other side up in a diagonal manner and knocked its head off its shoulders.

Caldor kicked the rest of the skeleton's body into the wall and grinned as it shattered.

"Nice work there princess." He quipped.

"Pfft."

Desther glared at the two of them and began chanting a spell. Caldor recognized the words and pushed Sharwyn away as the Flame strike hit him. Sharwyn watched as he was hit by the spell and attempt to shield himself by holding his arm up.

"Caldor!"

He still held the same position and pushed against the flames as best as he could.

She looked to his arm and noticed that the bracer he had was absorbing the spell. It still didn't seem that it would be enough so she ran towards Desther with her weapon raised and slashed at him.

Desther laughed, as her attack had no affect, and pushed her away with a blast of energy. She hit the wall pretty hard but not enough to render her unconscious. Sharwyn stood up and glared at him then turned her attention to the four flesh golems surrounding him.

She stared at them grimly then attacked one. It was pretty weak and went down easily.

Desther flinched a bit but continued trying to crush Caldor with his spell.

Seeing that he was no longer paying attention to her, Sharwyn proceeded to kill the remaining golems.

Once they were dead Desther stopped his attack and stared at her wildly, "You! You...I'll kill you first."

He ran at her with his mace, a wild look in his eyes. Sharwyn looked to Caldor who stood up and ran in front of her and blocked Desther's attack. With a flick of the wrist he quickly disarmed Desther then punched him in the mouth.

The cleric backed away clutching his mouth and looked around for another weapon. Caldor jumped at him and brought his elbow down on the man's neck then kicked him once he fell over. Abandoning his sword to the ground, he lifted Desther and hit him again before shaking him fiercely.

"Where is the cure?" He roared.

Desther spat in his face resulting in a dislocated jaw and fractured skull.

"Don't make me ask again." Caldor growled.

"I have your...p...precious cure!" Desther managed to choke out. He pulled the cure out and handed it to him.

"Good...you just saved yourself one hell of a beating." Caldor threw him to the ground and held him down with his foot.

"Love, can you find me some rope or something of that manner?"

Sharwyn nodded and disappeared into one of the side rooms.

Caldor glared at the cleric and ground his boot into the man's chest making him squeal.

Sharwyn soon came back with a coil of rope and handed it to him. Caldor knelt down and held Desther to the floor with his knee then proceeded to tie his hands behind his back. He then lifted him up and tied his legs together loosely enabling him to walk but preventing him from trying to run away. The rest of the rope was used to tie around his neck and create a short lead.

Sharwyn walked up to Desther and used a dirty rag to gag him with then slapped his cheek for good measure.

He glared at her making her smirk.

"Alright...we caught him...I'm amazed I didn't beat him into an unrecognizable heap." Caldor thought aloud.

Sharwyn sighed, resting her hands on her hips, "We better get him back to Neverwinter."

Caldor nodded and kicked Desther in the rear to get him to start moving.

Fenthick watched them curiously as they came down the stairs with Desther restrained.

Caldor smiled a little at his friend and beckoned him over. The elf got up off the ground and walked over to them.

Caldor threw his arm over Fenthick's shoulders and grinned, "We have the cure now so you don't have to worry anymore."

"Thanks to you the city is saved."

"Hmm, you forget I've always had someone to help me. I did not do this alone."

"Yes...you and Lady Sharwyn are an excellent team."

Caldor nodded and looked over at the bard. She smiled and wrapped her arm around him.

Desther rolled his eyes and grumbled something indiscernible resulting in a smack to the back of his skull.

Once they reached the foyer of the Hold, they all caught sight of Dumal. The four guardians stood around him as he greeted them.

"Thank you once again for your help Caldor. I have sent word for help and have also found some Watchers that managed to survive the attack."

Caldor nodded, "That is good to know."

Dumal sighed and stared up at the paladin, "Such a tragedy...we lost so many good souls. I saw Tomas...it is...terrible." He stared down at the ground then looked back up at Caldor.

"He would be proud to know that you saved the Hold from total destruction as does Helm."

Caldor nodded slowly then nudged Desther forward. "I will be back to help bury the dead if it is possible." He said as he walked through the doors.

Aribeth and a squad of guards awaited them on the other side of the Hold's gates.

"Caldor! Sharwyn...Fenthick...I see you've caught the traitor."

Caldor nodded and a couple of the guards took Desther's leash and led him back to the others. He was untied and chain cuffs were put on his wrists.

Fenthick stared at Aribeth then down at the ground, "I'm so sorry."

Aribeth sighed then walked up to him, "It was not your fault. I would say that we are all to blame for not realizing what Desther really was. Well everyone except Caldor." She pulled him into a tight hug then kissed his cheek.

Caldor yawned and scratched his head before looking back at the Hold and sighing. "We need to get back to Neverwinter and get this cure distributed. I just hope none of the citizens have found out about this."

"I hope Lord Nasher did what I advised." Aribeth turned and led everyone back to the still open portal.

"What did you tell him to do?" Sharwyn asked quietly.

"I asked him if he could order everyone who was present in the building to keep what happened undisclosed to the populace."

"Mm...let's just hope that he did just that or we'll have a lot of trouble on our hands." Caldor muttered.

As soon as the group arrived back in the city, the portal was closed and Desther was dragged to the dungeons of Never Castle kicking and screaming.

Once he was thrown in a cell, Lord Nasher immediately ordered Desther to be interrogated. Caldor gladly offered to do it and after thirty minutes of sound beatings, they had all the information they needed.

Lord Nasher ordered Oleff to administer the cure to the citizens, relieving Aribeth and Fenthick of that duty. Many people arrived on the steps of the Hall en masse calling for guards to be posted to keep order.

Caldor and the rest were allowed to rest in a small common room in the castle.

Fenthick had still refused divine healing when it was offered to him and now sat on one of the sofas in the common room staring at the ground. Aribeth sat at his side with an opened med kit in her lap, attempting to clean up the bruises on his face.

"Fenthick, lift your head and look at me so I can get your eye."

Fenthick sighed and turned his head but kept his eyes on the ground.

"Stop being so grumpy Fenthick." Sharwyn looked down at her lap and smiled.

Caldor's run of the Hold and interrogation of Desther had tired him out almost completely and he was now asleep in Sharwyn's lap.

"Isn't that right darling. He should calm down and relax like you." She ran her fingers through his hair and smirked.

Caldor turned his face from her stomach and glared up at her. "Aye...like she said." He grumbled before falling back to sleep.

Fenthick smiled a little and looked up at them. "I guess you are correct but...I can not help but wonder what will happen once the people find out about Desther's actions. After all, I'm sure someone saw him when we brought him back to the castle and no doubt somebody will eventually slip on what happened in the chamber."

"Bah, you worry too much Fenthick. Even if someone does find out I don't understand why you are so worried about it. It's Desther's hide that will be in trouble not yours." Sharwyn told him as she rang a small bell resting on a nearby table.

"Anyone else want some wine?"

"I'll take some." Came a muffled voice from near Sharwyn's abdomen.

Fenthick snorted and broke out into silent laughter.

Aribeth looked at him curiously, "What's so funny?"

"Him." He pointed to Caldor who sat up and winked.

Sharwyn giggled and stretched, "He is silly isn't he?"

"Yes I am silly." He threw his arm around Sharwyn's shoulders and pulled her close. "What's the plan for the rest of the day hm? We aren't going to sit around here all day are we?"

"Of course not. I guess we could go offer our assistance to the citizens once everyone has received the cure." Aribeth offered. She grabbed Fenthick by the chin and turned his face toward her. "Now will you let me get that eye or not?"

Fenthick smiled and nodded in resignation.

A handmaiden soon appeared then left the room again once she had received their request. Moments later she reappeared with four glasses and a bottle of Elven Wine.

"Ah, the good stuff!" Caldor said excitedly as he helped himself to the wine. He filled two of the glasses and handed one to Sharwyn as he sat back in the sofa.

The bard thanked him and sipped at the wine before speaking again, "I think that would be a splendid idea. The populace would be most grateful for our assistance."

"You sure do use a lot of big words. Gods you are such a noble." Caldor said as he sipped his wine.

Sharwyn glared at him and lightly smacked the back of his neck.

Caldor smirked at her and turned his attention to Fenthick. "I'm glad this is finally over with. Now you two can get back to your wedding and I might just stick around to see that."

"What? Were you... planning to leave Caldor?" Sharwyn questioned.

Caldor noticed the hint of sadness and paused a moment to pick his words carefully. "Well...I was but...you see I had promised my mother and grandfather I would head back to the clan once I was done helping here. Though..." He smiled and took her free hand into his own. "Well since I've met you and all things considered I couldn't just up and leave now could I?"

Sharwyn smiled and her cheeks colored a bit, "No...you couldn't."

"Mum will understand as will my grandfather. I mean...you wouldn't believe how much she has been hounding me over the years."

Caldor straightened up and scrunched up his face and said in a mocking voice. "'Caldor why haven't you found a woman yet? Caldor why aren't you married yet? Caldor when am I going to get some grandchildren?!' I mean goodness. The nagging! She will be delighted when she finds out considering...you will come with me to my clan home one day to meet them right? If it isn't to troublesome that is."

Sharwyn laughed and smiled, "Of course. I would be honored."

Caldor's expression brightened and he hugged her tightly, "That's wonderful to hear love."

Sharwyn giggled and waved him away, "Ah...Caldor show Aribeth and Fenthick what you can do."

He stared at her curiously then smiled, "Alright then."

Caldor stood up and walked over to the stonewall and put his hands on it, "Watch my friends and be amazed!"

Aribeth cocked her head to the side and Fenthick looked at him questioningly. The paladin snickered then climbed up the wall and onto the ceiling.

Once he was on the roof he looked down at the two elves and grinned at their astonished expressions.

"How...how did you do that?" Fenthick gasped out.

"I'm part copper dragon my friend. Ever heard of the spider walk?" Fenthick nodded. "Yes, I inherited that."

Aribeth clapped and smiled, "Isn't that a neat little trick. I'm sure it's very useful, correct?"

"Indeed m'lady." Caldor responded brightly.

Sudden commotion outside alerted everyone in the room and they all started in surprise when the door slammed open and a nervous looking guard poked his head in. "We have a problem."

Everyone stared at him then turned his or her heads quickly when there came a loud thud. Caldor sat up and rubbed the back of his head and grimaced at the others as they stared at him. "Lost my concentration for a moment."

He picked himself up and nodded at the guard in a business like manner.

"Alright then, lead the way."

The group quickly filed out of the room and followed the guard out a side door and into the castle courtyard.

The people had all gathered there armed with torches and were yelling at the guards already standing outside.

"What's going on here?" Caldor questioned a nearby guard.

"Someone leaked information and the people found out about Desther and what his false Helmites had done. They're calling for blood, they want him burned at the stake."

Caldor frowned and sighed, "Why not just hang him, I mean it's much cleaner. Aren't they sick of the smell of burning flesh?"

"When it comes to traitors it doesn't seem like they really give a damn." Sharwyn said.

"I wouldn't care either...well let's just hand him over then. He's going to die either way so let's just assess his crimes and execute him. I would like to be done with this messy business quickly." Caldor said flatly.

Lord Nasher exited the castle and everyone nodded to him respectfully.

"How do you want to handle this m'lord?" Aribeth asked him.

Nasher sighed and scratched at his arm, "Bring Desther out and prepare a burning stake."

Sharwyn winced though Caldor barely batted an eye.

He looked at Sharwyn and shrugged, "I suppose it is a fitting punishment for what he has done."

Sharwyn shivered and looked up at him, "That doesn't mean I'm going to like it."

Desther was soon brought out and was tied to a post with dried timber under it.

The citizens watched silently, a few stepping up to spit on the man. A thin man stepped up in front of Desther and opened a rolled parchment. He took a few minutes to read him the crimes he had commited and were being punished for then stepped back.

"Any last words scum?"

Desther stared at the man then started snickering. Then chuckling. Then full out maniacal laughter.

The citizens began screaming at him and yelling curses. One adolescent came up and threw a bottle of ale at Desther then another threw his torch at the man's feet.

He went up in flame quickly and his laughter soon changed to screams of pain.

Sharwyn averted her eyes and sighed. Caldor pulled her closer to him and rested his arm around her shoulders.

Fenthick looked down at the ground and slumped back against the building walls. Aribeth watched him then placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and Aribeth offered him a reassuring smile. He smiled back weakly and squeezed her hand.

Desther had stopped screaming a long time ago and his charred corpse dangled loosely from the pole. The people began to murmur amongst themselves. Some even made furtive glances at Fenthick.

".... Getting bored. Let's go back inside...we don't need to see all of this." Caldor told the others as he messed up Fenthick's hair in a playful manner before turning towards the door.

They all nodded and turned to follow him inside when one the citizens yelled, "Hang the traitor Fenthick!"

The elf froze in place. He turned slowly and stared at the crowd. _'No this cannot be! I did nothing wrong.'_

Caldor looked back and grimaced. He reached out toward Fenthick and pulled him behind him as the citizens surged forward past Desther's corpse.

The paladin held up a hand and smiled nervously. "You all can't be serious right? He did nothing wrong." He said to the group.

"Horse shit! He was with Desther all the time. They could have planned this whole thing!" One man yelled back at him angrily.

"Indeed! Fenthick was always working with those false helmites! He's a traitor."

Sharwyn shook her head at the people, "Just because he was working with them doesn't mean he was part of the plan to steal the cure and keep the plague going. He wasn't out there giving out those 'blessings' that Desther and the others were. Fenthick knew nothing about Desther's traitorous intent."

"Yes he did! The paladin told him." One of the nurses yelled from the crowd. She tried to hide herself quickly but Caldor caught sight of her.

He frowned and shook his head angrily, "Even though he didn't believe me that doesn't mean he was working with Desther. He only thought he was trying to help the city nothing more. I can't believe that you people are so willing to hang him over something as trivial as a misunderstanding."

The citizens yelled louder and shook their fists at him.

"Silence!" The crowd stopped yelling and stared at the paladin angrily.

"I do not know what the hell is wrong with you but you all better calm down right now. Fenthick did nothing wrong. He may have been a little naïve to what Desther was up to but that doesn't mean you can condemn him to death for it. Haven't we already punished the traitor? Why do innocents have to be killed to sate your bloodlust?"

The citizens spoke quietly among themselves before a man spoke, "He's right! We are done now. The blood has been paid. We need to go home and rebuild the city!"

A few others murmured in agreement and turned away from the crowd.

A loud young man in the front looked around angrily then rushed to the front.

"No! Stop! Because this man was too foolish to see that Desther was a traitor he should be hung for negligence!"

The crowd began yelling again, screaming for Fenthick to be hung. Lord Nasher sighed and signaled for two guards to grab Fenthick.

Caldor pushed the men away and stood in front of Fenthick protectively. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You aren't seriously going to listen to these fool hotheads are you?"

Lord Nasher stared at him sternly, "It is the law. He was dangerously negligent and let a traitor work around him."

Caldor sputtered in disbelief, "You've got to be fuc... look... if he is to be charged with negligence and hung for it you might as well hang yourself. You let him into the city after all...it isn't possible that you didn't interact with Desther and his company frequently. You are the leader of this city are you not? You need to start acting like one. "

Nasher glared at him and stepped forward to grab him by the collar. "Look boy. I don't know who the hell you think you are but this is my city and the law says that he should be hung for his crime."

Caldor grabbed his hand and wrenched it away, staring daggers at the man. "You are pathetic...you are going to hang this man on nothing? Where is the justice in that? You are only doing this to satisfy these bastards. You're too weak to be a leader." He growled.

Nasher gritted his teeth and punched Caldor hard in the face. The paladin fell back and shook it away quickly before rushing towards Nasher with his fist raised. Before he could reach him, five guards grabbed him and pulled him back and held him down.

"Tie him up." Nasher pointed to Fenthick.

"Wait a minute! This is wrong! What are you doing?" Sharwyn yelled at Nasher.

"This is the law! He must be hung!"

"No! He is innocent! I won't let you do this." She moved towards Fenthick but was grabbed and restrained by two of the guards. "Aribeth! Stop this!"

Aribeth stared at them all blankly then looked to Nasher, "Surely there is some mistake. You can't...hang him for that. Maybe imprisonment but not execution."

Nasher turned to her and shook his head. "You know the law as well as I do Aribeth."

"Don't believe that nonsense! That is too stupid to be a law!" Caldor yelled as he tried to loosen himself from the guards.

"He's right, that doesn't make sense at all. He shouldn't be hung for this. The punishment wouldn't be fitting for the crime." Aribeth pleaded.

"He commited no crime! Fenthick is innocent! It won't be an execution it'll be murder!" Caldor yelled.

"Someone shut him up!" Nasher yelled harshly.

"Fu..." One of the guards hit Caldor in the stomach with the butt of his halberd and he kneeled over clutching his stomach. All of the guards surrounded him, holding him in place.

Lord Nasher signaled to the guards holding Fenthick and they tied him up then dragged him over to a tree.

"Surely you'll reconsider my lord!" Fenthick yelled.

"This is wrong.... this isn't right...this..."Aribeth stared at the ground, trying desperately to make sense of everything that was happening.

"Aribeth! Don't just sit there damn it! Do something." Sharwyn and Caldor yelled at her.

"But...I don't..."

The guards threw a noose around a thick limb of one of the trees in the courtyard and put it around Fenthick's neck. They made him stand on a crate and tightened the rope around a tree. He struggled trying to free himself desperately but the guards had tied him up well and he couldn't move much without ending up hanging himself.

The crowd had silenced and watched the spectacle with bated breath. A few of the people tried to struggle forward, "This is wrong! You can't do this!" The guards held them back despite their best efforts to get past them.

Nasher stared up at Fenthick and sighed. The elf looked at him pleadingly but the man shook his head, "Fenthick Moss, you have been charged with criminal negligence and shall be hung until you are dead."

"Horse shit! You murderer! You will rot in the hells if you do this." Caldor yelled at him resulting in another blow to the abdomen.

Aribeth watched in horror as Nasher gave the signal and the wooden crate was kicked out from under Fenthick.

Most of the members of the crowd yelled excitedly. The others stared sadly and looked to Aribeth pityingly. Fenthick kicked against the tree trying to loosen himself but to no avail.

Caldor struggled harder against the guards but more arrived to hold him down. "NO! You...must stop...this! Errgh!" Despite his best efforts he couldn't wiggle free and watched helplessly as Fenthick's struggling form weakened and he stopped moving altogether.

Aribeth gawked at his motionless form in shock and sank to the ground, tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at Fenthick's corpse. She covered her face and doubled over, crying softly.

Sharwyn watched her and stared down at the ground, fighting back the tears. It was heartbreaking to see her like that. She looked up at Caldor who stared at Fenthick's corpse in horror.

His face fell and he ground his teeth together and squeezed his eyes shut firmly. With a sudden burst of strength he dispelled the guards holding him down and stared at Lord Nasher angrily. He unsheathed his sword and held it level to the ground.

"I should kill you...for what you have done." He said. His voice was shaking and the sword trembled in his grasp.

Nasher watched him and signaled to the guards to grab him. Caldor didn't fight them as they took his sword and chained his hands behind his back.

"I'm charging you with disorderly conduct. You won't be locked up long. Just for a couple hours until you calm down." Nasher turned stiffly and walked back into castle.

The guards holding Caldor followed him soon after.

Sharwyn shook off the guards holding her and ran to follow them into the castle. The guards standing by the door turned her away and she reluctantly walked back to Aribeth's side and knelt down next to her.

Aribeth was still bent over and barely noticed as Sharwyn rested a reassuring hand on her back. "I'm so sorry...."

The elf glanced at Sharwyn then sat up and hugged her tightly.

The crowd lingered a short while longer then eventually dispersed. A few of them lingered and watched Aribeth silently. They bowed their heads in shame and turned away.

"How could we allow this to happen?" An adolescent girl whispered sadly.

"There wasn't much we could do, we were too few." Her father said to her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "We should go home now...we can do nothing for her."

Sharwyn whispered soothing words to Aribeth but the elf barely heard her. Her shoulders shook gently as she tried to get herself under control.

"Just let it all out. It is not healthy to hold it all in." Sharwyn told her. Aribeth didn't answer. She instead stared at the ground quietly. _'Why...'_

The four guards led Caldor down into the dungeons and opened the gate leading into one of the cells closest to the dungeon entrance.

"Sorry about this Sir Erion. Just doing our jobs." One of the guards told him as he unchained the paladin and pushed him into the cell.

Caldor snorted at him and sat down on the dingy cot in the far corner of the cell. The guard closed and locked the gate then headed back up to the castle followed by two of his fellows. The third stayed back to guard him.

Caldor turned way from the gate and stared at the crumbling stonewall. "I can't believe it...how could this have happened?" He asked no one in particular.

He turned and glared at the back of the guard, "How could such an injustice be done in a city with Tyr as the patron deity? Answer me!"

The guard turned and stared at him curiously.

Caldor jumped up and slammed into the gate, startling the guard and making him fall backward.

"Don't stare at me as if I'm stupid. Answer the damn question!"

"I...I don't know. I was just following orders."

Caldor glared at the man, "So just because you were told something, despite the fact that you might be against it, you would do it anyway just to avoid getting into trouble."

"I was doing what my Lord ordered me to do." The man said calmly as he righted himself.

Caldor turned away from the guard and sat back down on the cot. "You are nothing but a coward and a fool."

The guard frowned, "Should I have stopped it and been accused of a being a traitor along with Fenthick?"

"Yes. Then you wouldn't be a murderer." Caldor replied quietly.

"But..."

"No excuses! Did you not see the citizens that tried to stop the 'execution' but couldn't due to your fellows. Were they accused of being traitors when they tried to help Fenthick? No they were " Caldor lay down on the cot, ending the conversation.

The guard watched him from the corners of his eyes. His vision switched to the ground and he sighed. "He's right." He whispered to himself.

To Caldor it didn't seem like it had been three hours since he had lied down on the cot.

"Up paladin. You may leave now." The guard from before had opened the gate and waited for him to exit. He got up and walked out of the cell and was escorted out of the dungeons. On the way out, the group passed by a broad opening, which led to a medium sized atrium. Caldor noticed Nasher in the room and stopped.

Lord Nasher looked up from the papers he was reading and met Caldor's steely gaze.

"Come on now." The guard prodded Caldor in the back with his halberd and the paladin began moving again. "I want to go back to the courtyard." Caldor said quietly.

"We will take you there but you may not enter the castle again so you will have to leave through the gate. It will lead you back to the city core."

The group turned and soon came upon the entrance to the courtyard. The guard opened the door for Caldor then closed it behind him once he was outside.

Caldor heard the shifting of metal behind him, meaning they had bolted the door.

He stared ahead at the two women sitting in the middle of the courtyard. _'I didn't think they would still be here...'_

Caldor started walking toward them.

Sharwyn heard the soft crunching of gravel and looked up solemnly. She watched Caldor walking towards them and offered him a weak smile.

He sighed then turned his attention to the elf sitting next to her. Aribeth had finally calmed down he noticed. Caldor kneeled down next to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Aribeth...amin hiraetha... amin ikotane hiraetha. I tried..."

"I know... diola lle ai'men." Aribeth whispered as she embraced him.

He looked up at Fenthick's body then back at Aribeth. "He deserves a proper burial."

Caldor released her and stood up. He untied the noose and lowered the body to the ground. Caldor tossed the rope away and picked the body up and started walking toward the courtyard exit.

Sharwyn stood and helped Aribeth to her feet then both women followed the paladin out into the city. They moved through the crowds quickly to keep up with Caldor's rapid pace. Sharwyn noticed the minute glances that the citizens were giving them as they walked past. A few subtle glares were directed at Caldor, but they were few and far between.

Caldor walked through the city as if no one else was there. In his mind, no one else existed. Such a large amount of stupidity in one place seemed unfeasible to him. Men and women dodged out of the way as he walked through them. Yelled curses and complaints flew over him like the wind. He heeded nothing.

The trio was now in the Beggar's Nest. Caldor had stopped in front of a small ramshackle building that was in the process of repair. An aging sign hung above the door marking this place as the workshop of a coffin maker. He stared down at Fenthick's still face thoughtfully then tapped the door with his foot.

After a few minutes a middle aged man appeared at the door and looked at the body then up at Caldor's face.

"Need a coffin for poor Fenthick I see." The man opened the door wide and beckoned them inside. The trio followed him in and Sharwyn closed the door.

"Pick whichever one you want. Free of charge. It is the least I could do. He saved my wife and son after all." The man nodded and waved his hand over the coffins that stood upright against the walls.

Caldor turned to Aribeth and nodded to the coffins. "Choose one m'lady."

Aribeth stepped forward and walked along the walls quietly, her fingers brushing over the polished lids. She stopped at a polished oak coffin and looked at Caldor. "This one."

"Alright, I will have my son help me get that onto a cart. Please bring it back when you are done." The man said as he nudged the young man sitting behind the counter. Caldor nodded at the man and signaled Sharwyn and Aribeth to follow them outside.

They waited for a few minutes before the man and his son came around with the coffin on an old cart.

"Thank you for this." Aribeth said.

"As I said before ma'am. It is the least that I could do." He bowed before them and led his son back into the workshop.

Caldor stepped onto the cart and slid the lid off of the coffin. Aribeth and Sharwyn climbed up with him and helped to lay Fenthick inside of it.

All three of them stared at him a moment with nothing said between them. Aribeth took an amulet from around her neck and placed it on Fenthick's chest.

"I hope he has found peace within the shelter of Tyr..."

Caldor bowed his head and grasped Sharwyn's hand. She squeezed it in return then climbed off the cart. Aribeth followed, as did Caldor once he replaced the lid.

He wheeled the cart to a building not too far away from the coffin workshop. It was in slightly better shape than the last one and was the home of a tombstone mason. Caldor knocked on the door and waited patiently for the owner to open the door.

A hairy, grouchy looking man appeared and glared at Caldor, "What do you want paladin?"

"What do you think I want?" He growled at the man.

The mason looked over at Aribeth then at the cart and snorted. "I suppose you want a tombstone eh? For yer precious traitor elf friend eh? Fine! But it'll cost ya double since it's for a traitor."

Caldor growled at the man as he turned and went back into his workshop. The mason heaved a thick granite slab up onto his worktable and began chipping at it.

Caldor glared at the man as he walked into the building. He noticed the slight smirk on the man's face and bristled. "You better not be putting anything on there with the word traitor in it."

"Oh no m'lord!" The man said in a mocking tone, "I would never do such a thing. How about you shove off eh? You're lucky I'm even doing this for you."

Before Sharwyn could stop him, he shoved the man hard into a pile of crates and tickled the man's throat with the tip of his sword when he tried to get up again. "Do not move scum or so help me I'll kill you where you sit." The man snarled at him but did not move.

"Sharwyn, make sure he doesn't budge." Caldor told her as turned to the worktable. The words, "Here lies the dirty trait..." were etched into the stone. He pushed it off the table and picked up another one off the ground and began working on it.

"I might not be a mason but I'll be damned before I let him do it." Caldor grumbled as he worked. Aribeth walked up to him and watched as he carved a short message into the stone.

She silently read the words that began to form on the tombstone, "Here lies Fenthick Moss. A devout and good man that did everything within his power for the greater good."

Caldor hesitated.

"What is wrong?" Aribeth asked quietly.

"Nothing." He whispered then continued working. "Aa'menle fea esta e'seere."

"May thy spirit rest in peace..." Aribeth looked up at Caldor and smiled at him. "Thank for all that you have done Caldor."

He looked at her then down at the stone and began etching the symbol of Tyr over the message, "It is the least I could do." He replied quietly. _'Yes...the least I could do after I failed him.'_

Caldor dusted off the tombstone and inspected it before picking it up. "It's not the best of work but I think it will mean more since it has been done by a friend." He walked towards the door and the women followed him.

"Hey!" Caldor turned and stared at the man as he picked himself up.

"I want compensation!"

"You didn't do anything fool." Sharwyn told him icily.

"Pay me for the use of my tools and for that wasted slab of granite!" The man yelled angrily.

Caldor dug into his purse and flicked a gold coin at the man hitting him hard in the forehead. The man yelped and fell over backward again into the pile of crates.

The mason grumbled as he picked himself up indignantly, the soft laughter of two women rang in his ears.

Once again they moved through the city, the Great Graveyard being their destination this time.

Many of the peasants saw them and bowed their heads respectfully. Some even followed wishing to pay their respects, if they were allowed to. They did not know how the paladin would react to them but followed anyway.

The large oak gate was slightly ajar and the trio noticed others were inside. "Over there under that silver maple on top of the hill. That would be an ideal spot, no?" Sharwyn asked.

Aribeth looked the area over and nodded, "I think Fenthick would like that." She looked up at Caldor who simply nodded.

He wheeled the cart over to where the grave keeper's hut was and snatched one of the shovels leaning against the wall.

They continued making their way up the hill and stopped under the tree. Caldor took the shovel and glanced at Aribeth before he began digging the grave.

The two women watched him solemnly as he dug and were slightly stunned when a man ran up to them yelling. "Hey you! What are you doing wit ma shovel? Ya didn't ask fer ma permission to use it or start diggin' where ya are now!"

Caldor whirled on the man and picked him up by the back of his shirt hissing into his ear, "Back off before I shove this shovel so far up your ass that you spit splinters."

The man nodded dumbly at him and held up a hand in defense, "Alright, alright! I see yer a mite touchy today so I'll leave you folks alone. Now if'n you just put me down I'll be on my way."

Caldor dropped the man and went back to digging the grave.

"Caldor...do you want any help?" Sharwyn asked.

"No...I feel responsible for not stopping them. I must do this." He said quietly.

"It was not your fault."

He looked up at her and shook his head, "I could have stopped them. But I did not...now he is dead. I failed to protect him." He stared into the hole; seemingly searching for something, and then continued digging again.

Sharwyn did not press him further and watched him thoughtfully. _'We'll definitely have to talk later today.'_

Caldor continued his work steadily, managing to get a 5-inch deep outline of the grave. He stopped to look it over quickly before continuing.

Aribeth and Sharwyn stood to the side quietly and watched him.

"He seems very determined to do this alone." Aribeth whispered.

Sharwyn nodded and sighed, "I do not know why he feels the need to punish himself. I wish he would let me help him. It's funny... no matter how much he says he loves me and accepts it when I tell him...he just won't let me love him. You know what I mean?"

Aribeth quirked an eyebrow at her, "I...suppose. Maybe after all of this is over you can talk to him. I think you would have a better chance at getting him to converse if you have him alone and pinned down."

Sharwyn smiled and nodded, "Aye...that sounds like an idea." A soft rustling behind them made Sharwyn look back curiously.

A small group of people looked at her sheepishly. A man in the front nodded toward the grave and gazed at her hopefully. "Would you...allow us to help?"

"You will have to ask Caldor." She said quietly and turned to look at the paladin.

Caldor stopped digging and stuck the shovel into the ground. He leaned on it heavily and looked back at the crowd.

"Please...we would like to help bury him. We feel terrible about what happened and just wish to pay our final respects."

Caldor didn't move and studied them closely. They were sincere he noted. Hopeful too.

He sighed and allowed a small smile to cross his features. "It seems that my faith in this city's people has not been completely destroyed."

The crowd brightened. "So you will let us help?"

Caldor nodded and picked the shovel up again. The men in the crowd surged forward with shovels and started digging inside the graves outline.

The women and small children were carrying small bundles of flowers and sat them down in a pile under the tree.

With the added help, the grave was soon dug and the men crowded around the coffin. Ropes had been tied to the handles and they were getting ready to lower it into the hole. Within minutes the coffin was in the grave and the crowd stood around it, gazing at the polished oak gloomily. The children tossed their flower bundles on top.

"Fenthick...was a good man. Very kind and giving... dedicated to helping anyone that needed aid. It is sad that he died in such a fashion." A man said quietly.

A low 'aye' moved through the crowd as the people nodded their heads.

"I know he is watching over us now. Hopefully he holds no ill will against us." A woman whispered as she looked up into the sky.

"He would not. I doubt he is even angry at the people who wanted him hung." Caldor smiled and looked up at the people. "It makes my heart happy to know that there are a few who are remorseful. I thank you." He looked to Aribeth.

"Yes...thank you for your kindness. It is greatly appreciated." She said quietly.

"You are very welcome Lady Aribeth." The man sighed and picked up his shovel.

Dirt was quickly thrown on top of the casket and the tombstone was righted at the head of the grave. The rest of the flowers were laid on top of the grave and propped up against the tombstone.

The people said their fair wells to Aribeth and apologized for her loss before going back to their homes.

Caldor looked up at the sky and watched the dark grey rain clouds move overhead.

"Hmm...it's going to rain again."

He looked to the two women and sighed, "Let's get you home m'lady."

Aribeth waved him away. "No...I'll be fine. You two go on."

Sharwyn clutched Aribeth's arm, "At least allow me to walk you home. Caldor, go on back to the inn and rest a bit. You look dreadful."

Caldor scratched the back of his head absentmindedly, "Do I look that bad? Very well...I'll go on then." He kissed Sharwyn softly on the lips then hugged Aribeth before grabbing the cart and walking off toward the gate.

Sharwyn stared at him as he left then turned to Aribeth. "Shall we go m'lady?"

Aribeth gazed at the grave sadly and looked at Sharwyn. "Yes...let's go.


	6. Chapter 5

Authors note: I'd like to thank Lord Valentai for beta reading for me. Thanks a lot!

* * *

A dark brown hawk perched on Caldor's shoulder and snapped at the loose strands of hair that hung from his face. The Paladin skimmed the sheet of parchment he had in his hands before he looked at the hawk.

"The letter is ready my friend...are you prepared?"

The hawk nipped at his cheek affectionately in response.

Caldor rolled up the paper and tied it to one of the hawk's legs. He removed the bird from his shoulder and balanced it on his forearm.

"Fly swiftly; I would like them to arrive sometime this evening."

The hawk launched off his arm and soared high into the sky before disappearing over the rooftops.

Caldor watched the bird until it was out of sight then turned and stared up at the building known as the Board Laid Bare. His eyes lazily drifted over the front of the wood and brick structure. The swollen wooden boards near the bottom...the chipping brownish-red paint on the door... the fading sign that hung over the door and the dirty windows.

_Hmm... _

His attention shifted to the cobblestone under his feet. The minute cracks in the stone were laced with green moss. Tiny yellow and purple flowers were dotted haphazardly through the moss. Small droplets of water splashed against the stone as it began to rain. Caldor sighed and looked back at the building.

His hand rose to the hilt of his blade and he squeezed it gently. His fingers grazed over the supple black leather and rested on the green pommel stone. It was dirty and scratched but it glowed with a dull green light.

His milky green eyes centered on it, watching it quietly as the light flickered and pulsed gently. He wrapped his hand around and squeezed it then let his fingers roll over it lazily as he lifted his hand off the hilt. The light had gone out.

Caldor lifted his hand to his face and watched the small green flame dance on his fingertip. He smiled and sucked it in, breathing deep as it flowed throughout his body. The draconic magic comforted him slightly.

Caldor sighed wistfully and began to unbuckle his breastplate. Once it was off he slung it over his shoulder and walked toward the tavern entrance. He opened the door slowly and scanned the inside of the tavern. It was surprisingly busy...well not really.

He closed the door quietly and began to undo the neckties holding together his leather undershirt as he walked toward the bar.

Kellisai watched him as he approached and sat down at the bar. "Give me a bottle of Elven Wine," He said. He dropped 10 gold pieces on the bar.

"Sir, you don't have to..."

"Yes I know but the wine doesn't pay for itself."

Kellisai took the gold as she handed him an unopened bottle.

"Rough day for you m'lord. I heard about what happened. It has been the talk of the tavern today."

He quirked an eyebrow, "Really? Huh, I half thought this place would be deserted after my fit at the 'execution'." He looked around the room as he stood up.

"Nah, it has been the reverse actually. People have been in and out all day. We've made quite a profit."

Caldor nodded slowly, "I see...well I'm going upstairs. If Sharwyn or one of the kids asks for me, tell 'em that I am in my room."

"Right-o boss." Kellisai said.

Caldor ran up the stairs and into the suite, tossing his breastplate on top of his bag near the wall. He slipped out of his undershirt and boots and tossed them on top of the pile along with his bracer. He removed his shin guards and dropped them atop the rest of his armor.

He stared at the bottle of Elven Wine then popped the cork and took a swig as he walked toward the balcony. He opened it wide and stared outside. The rain had fully started though it wasn't raining too hard. He walked outside and looked up at the dark sky. Caldor welcomed the raindrops as they hit his face. He turned around and climbed up the side of the building and sat down on the roof. He took another swig of the wine and watched the district silently. His thoughts instantly switched back to his friend Tomas and the others that were lost at the Hold.

He bowed his head and whispered a short prayer for the lost souls. Something he hadn't had time for at the Hold itself. The rain increased in strength a little and he shook the excess water off his head.

"A smoke would be nice right about now..." He said to himself though he didn't really mean it. He rarely smoked and tobacco didn't taste all that great anyway.

He lay back onto the roof and drank some more of the wine.

'_Heh, Sharwyn is going to kill me if she catches me like this.' _He thought with a smile. Caldor turned the cork over in his hand and eyed it before putting it into his pocket.

'_I am tired of the city now.'_

"So... you'll be okay?" Sharwyn asked as she reached out towards the doorknob.

Aribeth pushed back her hair and looked up at her friend. "Yes I'll be fine. Just get going okay. You still need to talk to Caldor."

Sharwyn watched the elf as she stared out the window. She knew her friend was hurting but honored her request to be alone. "If you need anything...you can find us at the Board Laid Bare. The bartender will let you up. I will...see you later Aribeth."

Aribeth simply nodded but continued to look outside. _'Raining again...'_

Sharwyn rushed through the city quickly. She was getting wetter by the minute and she wished that she could reach the inn quicker. "Damn this city for being so large." She jumped over the puddles and used back alleys to reach the Blacklake gate quicker.

Once inside she ran a straight path through the servant's quarters aided by the numerous alleyways. Soon she was inside the noble district and leaned on her knees to catch her breath. She looked up and pushed her wet hair out of her face, then continued on her course to the inn.

At the door, she shook off the excess water and wrung out her hair a bit before going into the building.

Kellisai smiled and waved at her, "He's upstairs...sulking I think... with a bottle of wine for company. He'll be glad to see you."

Sharwyn nodded at her and leisurely walked toward the stairs. She went up slowly as she caught her breath and walked quickly to the suite once she reached the second floor.

"Caldor." She said quietly as she walked into the room.

Sharwyn searched the room for him and noticed his armor in a pile near the wall. She dropped her own things and went over to the fireplace. She quickly lit a fire and looked around the room again.

"Caldor..." She saw the balcony doors open and walked outside. He wasn't on the balcony.

"Hmm." She looked around then turned to look up at the roof.

"Caldor are you up there?" She waited for a few minutes then smiled when he finally poked his head out.

"You're back." He jumped down from the roof with the nearly empty bottle in hand.

"Why are you drinking?" Sharwyn took the bottle from him and swirled it around in her hand before drinking what was left. "And sitting in the rain."

"I like the rain." He responded quietly. Caldor looked her up and down, smirking a little.

"Mmm...you're soaked."

Sharwyn raised an eyebrow at him and walked back into the suite. "Obviously, now get in here before you get sick."

He followed her and closed the doors and the curtains.

"How is Aribeth?"

"She's fine. She just wants to be alone for a while." Sharwyn tossed the bottle aside and removed the rest of her leather armor. Caldor watched her appreciatively and walked up behind her.

"I wonder...are you as tense as me?" He asked quietly as he wrapped his arms around her waist. His fingers slid along the bottom hem of her shirt and he nudged her cheek.

Sharwyn leaned back into his arms and stared calmly into the flames, "Not entirely...Caldor...?"

"Mm?" he mumbled as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I want to talk to you." She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, "You were just so upset earlier...I want to help if I can."

Caldor watched her silently and smiled. He leaned down and kissed her on the nose.

"All right, if you would like to talk then so be it."

Sharwyn let go of his neck and sat down on the rug. Caldor sat down next to her and stretched his feet toward the fireplace. "What exactly do you want me to talk about?"

"Tell me anything you want to."

Caldor looked at her curiously, "But...I thought you had something particular you wanted to talk about."

"No... after Fenthick's death...something in you just seemed to die. Like...something more than Fenthick's death was bothering you. You also said that you felt as if you had failed him but it was not your fault."

Caldor's eyes focused on the flames as he sat silently. "I did fail. I let an innocent be killed."

He looked down at the carpet and followed the intricate pattern with his gaze.

"There is something more to it. Please Caldor. Tell me...you might feel better afterward." Sharwyn watched him expectantly.

Caldor looked back at her and stared into her eyes. The azure orbs stared back at him hopefully. _'...Like the ocean.'_ He had always liked the sea in its tumultuous serenity. Looking into her eyes calmed him and he sighed.

"Do you remember when you asked me how I became a paladin?" He asked calmly.

"Yes...you said that you just met a Watcher in the woods."

"Well that is untrue. There is more to it. I am...sorry for being untruthful but it brings up painful memories."

Sharwyn hugged his arm and smiled at him, "Then it is important that you talk about it."

He stared back into the flames and brought his left leg back towards him, resting his arm on top of it.

"When I was 50 years old, still a child, my father was captured and accused of numerous crimes in a small village not far from the forest below our home. Murder, robbery, rape...they were only a few of the things those...people charged him with. Of course he did nothing of the sort. It was because he was half-dragon that they accused him of these crimes. It was mostly the jealousy of one man, Marcos Nelimen, which put him in that situation. He owned the local brothel in the town. He was jealous of my father because he was married to my mother, Tess, whom Marcos was in love with." Caldor paused and shuddered.

"I hated that brothel. Every time I walked near there those...whores would leer at me and try to coax me towards them. But that was when I was a bit older and had to go through the town to get to another place. I would have gone around completely if it was not so time consuming and dangerous."

He paused a moment and stared into the flames hard. He gritted his teeth a little before speaking, "They made it a game to capture me when I was nearing my adolescent age. I had grown quite tall and appeared to be a man though they knew otherwise. Whenever they got their hands on me they would...try to...force themselves onto me."

Caldor stopped a moment and swallowed hard as he stared at the fireplace.

Sharwyn watched him silently, barely able to contain her shock and anger at such abuse.

After a few more minutes he continued. "They never got far as I would always escape. They even tried enlisting the help of some of the male prostitutes and also some of Marcos's goons. Once they had me pinned down onto a table. There were no customers so they decided to have some fun with me I guess.  
One of the whores that had been around the longest was particularly fond of teasing and trying to have her way with me. The others were watching and laughing hard at me as I struggled to free myself. Nelimen was there as well grinning like the bastard that he was. As she was taunting me and groping her way up my legs, I managed to kick myself free and brought myself upright on my hands and flipped over the heads of the men holding me down. I ran out the door, never looking back. After that they were never able to get me into or near that brothel again."

Caldor glared at the flames and curled his lip. Sharwyn rubbed his arm comfortingly, "Caldor...I'm so sorry. I never thought-"

"Never thought I had a shitty childhood? Well it would be hard for anyone to guess wouldn't it?" He said spitefully. "Just because I'm not a mean son of a bitch or a very bitter person doesn't mean that I didn't suffer. Don't think my family didn't do their best to console me. They did. I have a loving family and after a few stern warnings from the dragons in my clan they never attempted to attack me in any form again."  
Sharwyn stared at him, barely holding back the tears. Caldor noticed this and his expression of rage was quickly replaced with calm and reassurance. "I'm sorry love; I didn't mean to ramble so. You did not need to know that."

"No, Caldor, I did. If I am to know and understand you, this is the best way." She wiped the tears from her face.  
He watched silently as she calmed herself down, gently rubbing her hand. "I'm sorry nonetheless. My past has upset you."

"It's alright Cal, I am fine. Please...just continue if you would still like too." She told him.

"The brothel was the main source of revenue in that town so Marcos had the ear of the council. Not like they were any better. They were scum. The good people that lived in the village kept their heads down to avoid being blackmailed or worse. My father, Jinjec, was beaten within an inch of his life before they finally decided to hang him. I was there...I cried and screamed for them to stop. They didn't listen to me. Who would listen to the bastard mongrel son of a half-dragon? I was kicked aside. The council's bratty children jeered at me, dancing around singing 'Poor little mongrel, your bastard daddy is going die!'"

Caldor stopped and looked at Sharwyn curiously. "Do you think I'm a mongrel?"

Sharwyn smiled at him and shook her head, "Now why would you ask a silly question like that?"

He shrugged, "Just wondering. But answer honestly, do you look at me and think 'mongrel'?"

"At first, yes, but that matters not now does it?"

"No."

"In any case I think you are rather exotic and it is most appealing if you have not noticed."

He smirked and nodded, "Fair enough. Now where I was...ah yes...my father was strung up and the council was ready to hang him. Out of the blue a Helmite paladin shows up with a group of vandals tied up and following behind. Now you're probably thinking 'a Helmite...wouldn't a Tyrran paladin been more appropriate'. Yes, if it had been the case but the paladin happened to be passing through, thankfully. Well he presented the real culprits and ordered them to release my father. The council and Marcos tried to argue but when he threatened swift justice to those who harmed innocents they let him go. This human paladin enthralled me. Sir Antony Shipp was his name."

Sharwyn's eyes opened wide, "He was related to Tomas then?"

Caldor nodded sadly, "Yes. Tomas was his grandson."

He swallowed hard and looked down at his hands. "Sir Antony became my hero. He had saved my father and helped my mother and I nurse him back to health. During that time he had told me about his faith and Helm."

He stared at the floor sadly, "I feel like I have failed him... I wasn't there for Tomas or the other Helmites. I could not help Fenthick. They died because of my ineptness. I failed Aribeth too..."

"Caldor...it was not your fault. You were helping us here in Neverwinter. The guards were holding you down. You can't blame yourself for these things."

"The Hold was attacked before I had arrived. If I hadn't decided to go to the Neverwinter Woods before heading here I would have been able to stop Desther and prevent them from helping to spread the cure. I could have freed myself from the guards! I could have prevented all of this but I didn't!"

"Stop beating yourself up! There was nothing you could have done! You had no idea that Desther would come! You just can't save everyone all the time. You're only one person." She glared at him, and then tried to calm herself a little.

He did not look at her. Instead he sighed and continued where he had left off.

"I did not seek Helm immediately once I had come of age. No...that came...later."

Caldor leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, "Can we...stop now. I don't want to talk anymore."

"Caldo-"

"NO!" He winced and shook his head, "I mean...no I don't want to talk about it." He squeezed her hand affectionately. "Maybe another time."

Sharwyn wasn't convinced but gave in, "All right, if you don't want to talk about it that's fine. It must have been something really tragic."

"Mm." Caldor stood up and walked toward the bed. He turned to look at Sharwyn and held out a hand to her.

"Come here princess."

Sharwyn smiled at him and stood up. She strolled over to him and placed her hand in his.  
Caldor pulled her into a passionate kiss, lightly stroking the small of her back. She arched forward and pressed against him as her arms wound around his neck. His hands moved down to her waist and crept under her shirt, lifting it as his hands slid over her skin.

She moaned softly and pulled away from him, licking her lips.

"You wouldn't happen to be planning anything?"

He smirked, "Now why would you ask that?"

"That mischievous glint in your eyes... I assume it requires...strenuous activity, correct?"

"Perhaps...if you are... up to it." He gave her a wolfish grin.

Sharwyn laughed and kissed him again.

"I suppose but..." She pulled herself from his arms and backed toward the bed, stretching out over the silken sheets then propping herself up on her elbows, "Do you think you are up to it. You were quite tired earlier...do you have the strength for it?"

Caldor leaned down on the bed and beamed at her, "Darling, when it comes to pleasing you I can have the stamina of a wolf." He snapped his neck back and howled loudly. He looked back at her with his head cocked to the side.

"The proper question should be, are you up to it?"

"Come here and you shall find out." Sharwyn whispered to him.

Caldor smirked as he climbed onto the bed.

"I think you will be quite pleased m'lady."

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Caldor's eyes snapped open as he surveyed his surroundings.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

He sat up, careful to remove Sharwyn's arm from his chest without waking her and slid off the bed. He snatched his trousers off the ground and pulled them on as he crept towards the balcony. He inspected the pair outside quietly before grabbing his coat and opening the doors.

"Good to see you two got my message in time." He whispered as he stepped outside and closed the doors.

"Aye. We flew here as fast as we could cousin." A tall, strongly built man with short dark hair said then turned to the smaller female. The woman was also tall, only a few inches shorter then her brother. She sported dark red hair, which was pulled back into a loose ponytail. Her golden eyes glinted in the moonlight. "Glasparazha here has been most anxious to meet your new lady friend ever since we found out from grandfather."

"What? How does he know?" Caldor asked in shock.

"Oh oops, I dare say that I was not supposed to tell you that. Well what is done is done. I am also quite curious though. You are supposed to be quite taken with this young lady. I would like to meet her."

"Not now Laz. She's asleep." Caldor told him.

"I am sure I know why too. You really tired her out, didn't you?" Glasparazha smirked at him.

Caldor blushed a little and frowned, "Now I don't think that is any of your business. Besides, we have a matter that we should attend to immediately. We are running out of time."

"Right, shall we go then?" Lazslaow offered Caldor his hand as he jumped onto the balcony railing. Caldor gripped his cousin's arm tightly as he was pulled up into the air.

Glasparazha leapt into the air smoothly and soared up next to her brother.

All three disappeared into the night sky, flying swiftly towards their destination.

Sharwyn curled up in the bed and turned over. Her eyes opened a little then closed again as she yawned. "Cal..."

She felt around on the bed awhile then sat up when she noticed he wasn't there. "Caldor?"

"Right here princess." He whispered as he slid into the bed next to her.

"Where did you go?" She asked sleepily as she wrapped herself around him.

"Just to the loo."

She nodded and fell back to sleep quickly. Caldor smiled at her then turned to look out the balcony windows. He winked at his two cousins before they turned and flew off into the night."

The children had made it a habit to appear in the suite at the most inopportune times. This one such occasion would be without a doubt one of the worst.

Much to Sharwyn's chagrin the children decided to greet their caretakers early in the morning, bouncing onto the bed in the most cheerful manner. "Wake up sleepyheads!"

The bard tried desperately to cover herself up as the smaller children meticulously yanked the comforter off the bed.

"You little imps! How did you get in here?" She nearly shrieked at them.

"Missus Kellisai let us in." They chirped happily in reply.

Caldor laughed as Sharwyn seethed. Kellisai would definitely have to lay low for a while.

He stood up and scared the children away from the bed playfully, then stooped to pick Sharwyn's clothing off the floor and hand them to her.

Lise smiled roguishly at the bard and winked, which in turn caused Caldor to laugh harder.

"You little devils are terrible. Go on now. Go bother Kellisai and big Ben for a while until we get down there. That's an order soldiers!" He told them as he pulled on one of the silk shirts.

"Sir yes sir!" The children saluted him and marched out the door and down the hall.

He snickered and sat down on the bed, staring fondly at Sharwyn. She was flustered and pulled her clothes on while grumbling various obscenities under her breath.

"Such language my lady." She scowled at his smiling face and threw a pillow at him.

He caught the pillow and grinned at her.

"Eh, boss. This summons came for you this morning from Castle Never. Seems Lord Nasher wants to speak to you about summat." Kellisai leaned against the door calmly as she stared at the letter.

"You!" Sharwyn roared as she stood up on the bed.

Kellisai screamed in terror as the summons flew out of her hand and she darted into the hallway.

Sharwyn jumped off the bed and chased after her, almost sliding into the wall as she flew out the door.

"I'll kill you!"

Caldor stared at the door in confusion then cracked a smile as he stood up and gathered the summons off the floor. He skimmed the paper and sighed.

"I didn't think he would want to see me again. Bah, he will most likely have his Neverwinter Nine there at the meeting just to make sure." He tossed the paper aside and walked out the suite, closing the door behind him.

He could still hear Sharwyn yelling and chuckled as he walked down the stairs.

The sight that appeared as he stepped into the tavern had him doubled over in laughter. The whole room had been upturned and Kellisai was desperately trying to calm Sharwyn down as she dodged the angry red head.

"I'm sorry miss! If I had known I would not have let the children in!"

"Yes you would have you little sneak!" Sharwyn said angrily as she made a grab for the cleric as she jumped past.

"Bah, don't try to lie Kellisai. You heard 'em just like the rest of us. You knew all right." Ben said with a smirk.

Sharwyn stopped momentarily and glared at the bartender, her face cheery red.

"What? 'Tis nothing you should be embarrassed about m'lady. Only natural after all." Ben said as he held his hands up defensively.

"He's right. So calm down now and come here. You've torn my tavern to bits." Caldor said calmly.

"Right-o there boss. Live and let live and all that rot." Kellisai said as she hid behind Caldor.

The children watched the spectacle with barely contained glee. Obviously the idea of grown women chasing each other was quite amusing to them.

Sharwyn sulked and walked over to Caldor, allowing him to pull her into a tight embrace.

"There you go, big bear hug for you princess." He said cheerfully.

Kellisai exhaled in relief, but quickly skittered away in fright as Sharwyn made a mad grab for her.

"Enough of that. Kellisai has had her fun but she will get hers eventually." Caldor said as he held Sharwyn back by her collar.

"Now to the business at hand. I have a wonderful little meeting to attend this afternoon at Castle Never. That should be fun. So I want you to rest here or perhaps go shopping, all right?" Sharwyn nodded mechanically and he smiled, "Good. Is the cook up?"

"Yes sir. Preparing breakfast as we speak." Ben told him happily.

"Good, make sure these kids are fed and I want a list of our expenses and profits. I at least have to attempt to run this establishment. As for you." He turned Sharwyn so that she was facing him. "Go on upstairs and relax all right. I'll send some bathwater up for you soon."

Sharwyn nodded reluctantly and headed up stairs. "I'll bring breakfast up as well."

He watched her go up the stairs and smiled. Caldor then turned to look at Kellisai and shook his head, trying his hardest not to laugh.

Kellisai shrugged as she hid behind the bar.

"Making her angry in the morning is not the best idea. I suggest you stay out of her way for the next couple of days all right. Now...who's ready for breakfast?" The orphans cheered and danced around their table.  
Ben shook his head at the children then turned to look at Kellisai. He opened his mouth to say something but decided against it and shook his finger at her in a disapproving manner. The cleric merely grinned.

Sharwyn hovered slightly under the waterline of the marble tub. Her eyes searched around the room lazily, her vision slightly impaired by her hair. The crimson mass fanned out away from her head, its movements lethargic.

She sighed and watched the bubbles float upwards then burst at the surface.

'_I wonder what Lord Nasher wants him for. I hope it is nothing awful.'_

She sat up and brushed her hair away from her face then picked up a nearby bar of soap. She stared at it quietly as she lathered it up. It was an odd soap that she hadn't seen before. It was clear though slightly milky and had actual rose petals in it. It smelled strongly of the flower and she smiled.

When the bath water had been brought up, Ben mentioned that Caldor had found the soap in the storage area. He insisted that it be brought up to her even though it was for noble customers only and had paid the buying price for it.

Sharwyn stared at the object and smiled, "So much love and thought in a little bar of soap." She said aloud. She laughed and began to wash herself up.

Now clean and feeling refreshed, she dried herself and stretched out on the bed. She pulled the bronze bed sheets around her and smiled. Bunching the silk in her hands, she brought it to her face and breathed deeply. The faint scent of the forest and roses lingered on it and memories of the previous night came to her.

She rolled over gracefully and plucked a leather bag off the nearby nightstand. Inside was a mixture of herbs and plants, their powerful scent wafted out slowly. Caldor's own little bath mix that he used when he occasionally made his own soap. At the bottom of the bag was a small bar, recently made but used twice already.

"Most likely the only reason he has stayed sane in this city." She laughed as she pulled its drawstrings and set it back on the table.

Sharwyn flopped back on the bed and scrunched the pillows up behind her head. She watched the dust motes floating around in the sunlight that came through the windows. Her attention shifted to the door as it clicked quietly then opened. Caldor peeked in and smiled at her.

"You hungry?"

She nodded and pulled the sheet over her chest and sat up as he brought the tray of food inside. He kicked the door closed and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Now, we have some bread, freshly baked. Here is some fruit; I handpicked the best strawberries for you. Lastly, we have some porridge with honey."

He smiled at her and she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"This looks wonderful darling! I am starving."

"Well eat up then!"

She smiled then began eating the small spread.

Caldor watched her as she ate. She was indeed hungry and ate voraciously, occasionally glancing sideways at him.

"Are you not hungry dear?" She asked him after a while.

"No, I am fine." He replied softly.

Sharwyn would have none of that and held a thick apple slice up to his mouth, "Come on now. You have to eat."

He looked at the offered fruit and smiled. "Really, I am not hungry. I brought this up here for you."

She raised an eyebrow at him curiously, "You have been rather selfless this morning. What is the matter? Nervous about the meeting?"

"Not really."

"Uh huh. Well you have to eat. Open up." She tickled his lips with the fruit until he finally opened up and ate it in one bite.

"Happy now?" He asked as he chewed.

She nodded and picked up a piece of bread and offered it to him. He took the bread and ate it quickly before speaking again, "I have to get going soon. Will you be okay here alone? You won't try to kill Kellisai again will you?"

Sharwyn laughed and waved him away, "Go on you. I'll be fine and I will not go after her again. I'll be right here when you get back." She kissed him then pushed him off the bed, smiling brightly.

He smirked and picked his armor up off the floor. "If you say so."

Caldor tapped his foot impatiently as he stood in the middle of the waiting room in Castle Never. As soon as he had arrived in the vicinity, a squad of guards escorted him into the atrium and told him not to leave the area or we would be locked up.

He snorted and stared irately at the two guards standing at the entrance.

'_Well this is a fine kettle of tea. What the hell did he even call me here for if he's going to treat me like some kind of criminal! The nerve of that damned decrepit human!'_ His mind screamed.

He pouted silently as he waited to be summoned, occasionally glancing outside to gauge the time. Within moments, a butler came in and beckoned him to follow. He trailed behind the man quietly as they walked down the hall to the corner room that Lord Nasher was waiting in.

As he had guessed, the Neverwinter Nine stood around Lord Nasher, watching him cautiously as he entered the room.

The butler bowed low before exiting the room. Other men and women were in the room as well, sitting around a small table littered with paper. They risked small glances in his direction and he frowned at them.

"Hmph, I see you have yourself a small army. Are you afraid that I would try something Nasher?" Caldor asked impudently.

Lord Nasher wrinkled his nose at him, "Only a fool fails to be wary, Sir Erion."

"Calm yourself, I am not going to cause any trouble for the sake of the Lady Aribeth. By the way, where is she?"

"She has yet to arrive. Once she is here we will begin." Lord Nasher said calmly.

Caldor sighed and leaned against a nearby wall, carefully watching the others in the room. He flicked at his cloak idly and sucked at his teeth in irritation.

"The Lady Aribeth has arrived, m'lord."

"Send her in."

Aribeth walked into the room briskly and bowed low before Lord Nasher. "I apologize for my tardiness m'lord." She said quietly.

The elf stood erect but kept her eyes on the ground.

Caldor's heart fell as he looked at her. _'The poor woman...it does not appear she got much rest last night.'_

"M'lady."

Aribeth looked up at him sadly. Caldor bowed his head respectfully and offered her a small smile. She smiled back at him then turned to Nasher.

"All right, we have been researching this Cult but we haven't found much on them yet. I currently have agents around the Sword Coast seeking out information that may pertain to them as well as any places they may have congregated. Once we have pinpointed them I want you, Aribeth, to lead an expedition to investigate them. Find out what they were trying to achieve by keeping this plague going for so long. Caldor, I want you to go with her. You have proved a most valuable asset in finding the cure ingredients and I have all faith that you can find out what this cult is up to."

"As you wish, m'lord." Aribeth said solemnly.

Caldor perked up and stared at Nasher curiously then looked at Aribeth. "So soon? Aribeth has barely had time to grieve for Fenthick. Is there not someone else you could send in her place?"

"No, she is my right hand and this is her duty. In any case, I want her to be there to find the ones responsible for his death."

"The ones responsible?" Caldor asked incredulously, "She wouldn't have to go far from the city to find them."

"Watch your mouth boy." Nasher growled at him.

"Boy? I was slaying dragons long before you were even a thought. Do not call me that." He responded in contempt.

"I did not call you here to argue, Erion. Will you accept or not?"

"I accept but I'm doing this for Lady Aribeth, not you or this damnable city." Caldor bowed before Aribeth. "Feel free to visit me at my tavern if you feel so inclined m'lady."

He straightened up and threw a glare in Nasher's direction before turning swiftly and heading back to the entrance.

Once Caldor was out of sight, one of the Nine slammed his fist down onto a nearby table. "Damn that disrespectful half breed! Why do you put up with him m'lord? He should be kicked out of the city and forbidden reentry."

"Silence. He is the best one for the job. Besides, I can understand him being so upset." Nasher looked down at the ground and sighed, "He's a good man to still be willing to help even after what has been done."

He looked up at Aribeth, who was watching him silently. "You are dismissed...Aribeth. Please go home and rest."

She bowed low, "Yes m'lord." Aribeth turned and walked out of the castle quickly, ignoring anyone that greeted her.

Caldor kicked at a loose floorboard nonchalantly as he walked down the hall to his suite. He stopped and pressed down on the board with his boot before continuing down the hall.

"Running around the country side chasing after fanatics is not my idea of a good time but...it must be done." He told himself as he quietly unlocked the room door.

His attention quickly shifted to the body stretched out on the bed. Sharwyn had not moved and now appeared to be sound asleep with her back facing him.

He watched her silently for a moment then began taking off his armor. He grunted as he removed the heavy metal, trying to make as little noise as possible. _'Why did I even wear this? Oh that's right...only fools fail to be wary, Heh.'_

Caldor was soon down to the leather padding and he yanked it off impatiently. He changed back into the trousers and shirt he was wearing previously and crept towards the bed.

He smiled to himself as he tiptoed carefully over the occasional creaky floorboard and slid into the bed next to her. Caldor watched her shoulders rise and fall as she slept.

He leaned over her and laced his fingers between hers and kissed her shoulder.

She murmured something softly but did not move.

"Hmm." Caldor smirked and sat up on the bed. He wiggled the hand that was laced with hers for a bit until she finally turned over and glared at him in annoyance.

"Yes?" She asked irritably.

"I'm...eh home so to speak. I just wanted to say hello." He said cheerily.

"Hello." She freed her hand from his and promptly turned over and went back to sleep.

Caldor pursed his lips and stared at her curiously, "Hey, what's with the cold shoulder?"

"Sleeping." She replied.

"Damn, did I really tire you out that much?"

Sharwyn turned over and swung at him, making him lean back to avoid her fist.

"Hehe, sorry love... couldn't resist. Seriously though, you've slept already. It is time to join the world of the conscious. I have something to tell you."

She eyed him crossly then sat up, covering her self with the sheet. "What is it? What did Lord Nasher want?"

"It seems the old man has been doing a bit of research on our old friends the cult. He hasn't found much on them yet so he has men on the field trying to pin down their location. Once they have found an area that is heavily trafficked by them, Aribeth is to lead a team out to investigate. Nasher wants yours truly to help her with the investigation." He told her.

"So you'll be leaving the city." She said quietly.

"Um...yes." He looked down at the bed spread then perked up, "But you'll come with me right? I couldn't possible do this on my own. We are a team remember? No doubt Nasher will hire you to help out too. Besides...I think it would be best if the both of us are there to support Aribeth."

"You are correct. Aribeth will need our support." She stared at him thoughtfully for a moment. "But isn't it a bit soon to be trying to send her out of the city on wild goose chases?"

"That's what I said. Of course Nasher came up with the harebrained idea that she would be able to find her fiancée's killers this way." Caldor sighed and brushed his hair back away from his face.  
"Alas, there was not much I could do. He was set on sending her out and she accepted."

"He's just trying to push her away." Sharwyn mumbled.

"Mm hm, but I will help find these bastards. It was their fault all of this happened in the first place."

Sharwyn leaned on him and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"So how long before they are found?" She asked.

"I am guessing a couple of weeks. Perhaps more...I'm not really sure. We will find out eventually."

Sharwyn smirked, "Oh joy, another exciting adventure into impending danger. Such is the life of an adventurer."

"Oh aye, I can't wait." Caldor said sarcastically, "And I was looking forward to going home too. Oh well. Such is the life." He squeezed Sharwyn fondly, "At least I still have you."

"Yes, and I'm not going anywhere." She smiled at him.

A tiny knock sounded at the door and Caldor called out to them.

"We wants Unca Cal to come out an play wit us!" One of the children said.

"Yea, an' we wants Auntie Sharwyn too!"

Caldor chuckled, "Looks like our children are calling for us."

Sharwyn smiled and shook her head, "You go on. I'll join you soon."

He nodded and kissed her before going out the door and closing it behind him. A loud roar along with tiny squeals erupted from the other side and tiny feet could be heard hurrying down the hallway.

"At least we'll have something to do for those few weeks."

"_We have been traveling for three days now on our journey to the town of Port Llast. Our guide tells us that we should reach our destination within another day or two. I'm glad. I have grown weary of sleeping on the hard ground. Despite uncomfortable sleeping arrangements it hasn't been too bad of an experience. Caldor often offers to act as a bed for me. I can't help but laugh every time. That roguish grin he gives me each time always makes me giggle. Now don't think I refuse his offer, he is, after all, very comfortable to sleep on. Uh oh, I have to stop now. He's scowling at me again. Time to turn in for the night; we still have a ways to go."_

Sharwyn closed her journal and smiled at him as she put it back into her bag.  
"Must you write in that thing all night? You need your rest." Caldor told her as he placed a blanket onto a sleeping Aribeth.

"Oh shush Cal, it's not like I'll be doing anything strenuous tomorrow. I'll just be riding a horse all day."

"Yes but it can be tiring. Besides, anything could happen tomorrow and you want to be well rested." He leaned back onto a thin bedroll and pulled her to his side. "Now it is time for some rest."

Sharwyn grinned at Caldor then crawled on top of him, draping her arms over his shoulder and around his neck. "Alright then ya worry wart. Who knows what will happen tomorrow. We might get attacked by goblins."

"Ha ha, laugh it up miss. You'll be thanking me tomorrow." He told her as he pulled a blanket onto the two of them. "Goodnight love."

"Goodnight ya big love mattress." Sharwyn whispered as she rested her head on his chest.

Caldor looked at her with a raised eyebrow but said nothing in response.  
_'Love mattress, eh? That's new.'_

Sharwyn was startled awake by the sudden flapping of wings and searched the area around her quickly. The other mercenaries had heard it as well and were also looking around.

"Nothing to fret about mates, it was just my pet hawk." Caldor announced as he brushed his arm off.  
Sharwyn stared at him curiously. "How did you get over there?"

Caldor glanced at her questioningly from where he was standing. "I walked?"

"No, you nut. How did you get over there without waking me up?"

He smiled at her then turned to rekindle the fire. "I have my ways."

Aribeth sat up and waved to Sharwyn, catching her attention. "Morning."

Sharwyn smiled at her, "Morning hon. How are you feeling?"

"I'm good, thank you." The elf said quietly.  
Caldor smiled at Aribeth, "Are you up for some porridge m'lady?"

She nodded and pulled her legs up against her chest. She looked up at the sky, her face at a neutral expression.  
Sharwyn pulled out her journal again and began writing, pausing to tap the quill pen against her mouth thoughtfully. She glanced at Aribeth for a few moments before returning her attention back to her journal.

Once everyone had eaten, they saddled up once again and continued on their course to Port Llast.  
Aribeth trailed behind the others as they traversed a broad stretch of dirt road. She patted the side of her white horse's head idly. She stared ahead unblinkingly; barely seeing the other people ahead of her. Caldor glanced back at her curiously but said nothing. _'It'd be best just to leave her be.'_ He thought.

Aribeth at her hand, the engagement ring glowed brightly in the morning sunlight. She hadn't removed it and she never would. She swallowed back the tears that threatened to fall. Aribeth sighed as she got herself back under control. She looked up at the sky again, smiling faintly.  
_'Soon...'_


	7. Chapter 6

Authors Note: Sorry it took so long to get this out. I have the beginning and the end fleshed out in my head. As for the middle…nada. So I'm working on that.

As for the question regarding the elvish, I found an elven dictionary on the internet and use a guide to form sentences.

Aribeth looked down at Port Llast calmly. Her eyes slowly scanned the harbor town and the surrounding country side. It was early morning and the people were just now waking up to begin their morning tasks.

"So this is the town they have been frequenting, eh?"

Aribeth turned and watched Caldor as he walked up next to her on the cliff and knelt down near the edge.

"Yes, why they would have an interest in this area is beyond me."

"Hmm, I think it is mostly the surrounding areas that have drawn their attention. Nevertheless, we will find out soon enough."

Aribeth nodded at him.

"Come on you two! We need to get to the barracks as soon as possible!" Sharwyn called to them from the head of the caravan.

Caldor nodded and stood up. "Let's go, m'lady."

Aribeth turned and mounted her horse and continued after the others with Caldor behind.

….

They had all soon gathered around the barracks and began unloading their supplies while Aribeth met with Aarin Gend.

Caldor and Sharwyn took up the reigns and soon had all of their supplies moved into the barracks. The oxen and horses were moved into a nearby stable.

The mercenaries moved into the building quickly to arrange themselves then clumped into small groups to chat.

Caldor watched them all with little interest and chanced a glance at Aribeth. She looked tired and it did not appear that she was wholly interested in what the Gend character had to say.

_I wouldn't either, honestly._

He turned and walked over to where Sharwyn was standing. With her was the halfling rogue Tomi Undergallows, the elven cleric Linu La'neral and half-orc barbarian Daelan Red Tiger.

"Ah, an' 'ere comes the man of tha hour 'imself." Tomi said loudly with a smirk.

Caldor raised an eyebrow at the halfling, "And?"

"Nuthin'." Tomi said innocently.

Caldor watched him a moment then turned to Sharwyn. She smiled at him and shook her head. He stared at her curiously for a moment.

"You know, I don't really care what you all were talking about." He said with a smile.

"I know." Sharwyn told him.

He sighed and smiled at the group, "Fine, now to be serious for a moment. What do you all plan to do to help in this search?"

"Well, follow your lead of course." Linu said quietly.

"I see."

"Aye, I wanna see if you're as good a leader as they say you are." Tomi said.

"I'm curious as well." Daelan said calmly, "Besides, Nasher told us that you were the one to answer to other than the Lady Aribeth herself."

"Well, that's good then. As soon as I find out what to do from Lady Aribeth, we will get underway."

The three nodded and continued chatting with each other. Linu occasionally glanced at Tomi warily. The halfling knew she was watching him but did nothing in response. This latest time, however, he jumped at her, making her fall backwards into a pile of crates.

Tomi laughed hard, slapping his knees and pointing at the elf. He soon got a smack to the back of the head and a stern frown from Daelan.

Caldor smiled at them and shook his head. He took Sharwyn's hands in his own and swung them lazily. "This should turn out to be a lot more interesting than I originally thought.

"Yes, those three are quite entertaining to watch." She said with a smile, "But what about the other two, Boddyknock and Grimgnaw?"

"Aribeth said she had something planned for those two." Caldor said with a shrug.

"Oh. Wonder what makes them so special." Sharwyn said thoughtfully.

"No clue." He yawned and looked over in Aribeth's direction. She beckoned him over as soon as she noticed he was paying attention.

"What are your orders m'lady?" Caldor asked as he walked up to her, bowing slightly.

"As you already know, we are here to find the cult members seen here in this town and in the surrounding areas. Lord Nasher commands that we unearth their headquarters and find out their plans…and to stop them at any cost." Aribeth paused a moment then continued.

"Aarin Gend, Lord Nasher's spymaster, is here with us to assist in this endeavor. He has provided many reports of strange activities throughout the northern lands. It is possible that agents of this…cult are behind these activities. Your assistance in these matters are invaluable, Caldor. With you here...I…we will get the answers we seek."

Caldor placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly, gently stroking the edge of her jaw with his thumb. "I will do everything in my power to find these bastards. I swear this to you m'lady." He told her in a low voice.

Aribeth smiled lightly, "I know you will Caldor. All of my faith is in you."

"I will be sure not to disappoint you then." He smiled and let his hand fall to his side.

"And I'll be there making sure nothing stands in his way." Sharwyn smiled at them both as she walked up.

"Thank you." Aribeth nodded her head slightly.

Caldor watched her a moment then shifted his weight onto his right leg and crossed his arms over his chest. "Aribeth, what are you going to be doing while I'm out running about the countryside?

Aribeth stared at the floor a little then looked up at him. "I am here the make sure Lord Nasher's orders are carried out." She paused. "My role seems quite small compared to yours, no? I suppose Lord Nasher just wants someone he trusts in this role…or perhaps he just wants me away from my memories of Fenthick…"

Caldor's expression darkened considerably. Sharwyn frowned a little, hoping that he wouldn't say something to get himself into trouble.

"I…see," It seemed to take great effort to keep himself from saying anything further. He squeezed the bridge of his nose a little and shook his head.

"You should go speak to Aarin now. He has some information for you that will no doubt be quite useful." Aribeth told him.

Caldor nodded then turned to walk towards Gend then stopped. "Aribeth."

She turned and looked up at him.

He knelt down next to her ear, "I want you to rest okay. Since there is a Temple of Tyr here I want you to visit it often and pray to him. Speak to the priests there as well. It may help. Promise me this."

Aribeth smiled and nodded, "Promise."

He smiled and walked around her towards Gend.

Aribeth sighed and retreated to one of the side rooms. Caldor noticed her leave and frowned a little. _I hope she is alright._

Sharwyn squeezed his arm reassuringly and followed him to Gend.

The dark skinned man nodded at him as he approached and held himself proudly. He looked every bit like a master spy. The well made leather armor hugged his slim, muscular form. No doubt it kept him well armored and allowed a full range of movement.

The scars on his arms and hands gave little doubt to his battle experience.

The Aarin smiled at him as he drew near followed closely by Sharwyn, "Hail, friend! You were instrumental in ridding Neverwinter of the Wailing Death, I understand. I would like to congratulate you on a job well done."

Caldor sighed, "Yes I suppose, though of course all I did was kill everything that moved. Besides, everyone seems adamant to forget that I had help." His tone was one of boredom laced with slight irritation.

Gend raised his eyebrows at him. "You don't seem to think of yourself as much of a hero."

"No, not really," Caldor said flatly.

"I see. Well you have proven yourself to be quite courageous and resourceful. That is good; these qualities will be needed if you are to complete this latest mission. But that is not how we should begin. I am known as Aarin Gend, and I have served our Lord-"

"Your lord," Caldor said calmly.

"Excuse me?"

"He is not my Lord but continue what you were saying." Caldor said with a wave of his hand.

Gend's eyes narrowed slightly as he continued, "I have served Lord Nasher for some time. Hopefully I may be of similar use to you now."

"I sure hope so."

Aarin sighed, "Are you going to be difficult to work with?"

"Not if I don't choose to be."

The Spymaster rolled his eyes then shifted his attention to Sharwyn who was merely smiling at Caldor. "And who might this lovely lady be?"

"I'm Sharwyn, pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine m'lady." He said with a smirk.

Caldor watched him irritably, waiting quietly for him to put his eyes back in his head and continue.

"So you are the bard that has been assisting Sir Erion then?"

"One in the same," She told him.

"Ah."

Caldor's patience was running thin and he tapped his boot against the ground irritably in an attempt to get his attention. Gend was no longer paying any attention to him.

"Gend."

"Yes?"

"Would you like to have children one day?"

"Um…I suppose. Why do you ask?" Aarin asked curiously.

"Well, if you do not stop staring at her I will render you impotent."

Aarin stared at him in shock as Sharwyn shook her head at Caldor. The spymaster smirked at the paladin and stood upright. "Well now that I have your full attention, maybe now we can get to work."

Caldor glared at the man then chuckled, "Very funny sir. Seriously though, please tell me what you have come up with so I can begin the search."

"It is vital that the cult's exact location be found, and that we are certain any leads we discover are not attempts at deception. Aribeth has informed me that she wants at least two separate leads that point to the same place. That is your task."

"I see…so where should I begin?"

"I would advise that you begin your search in the caves that lie north of Port Llast. There has been some strange news about increased activity there. Some investigation on your part might turn up some information regarding the cult. Also there is the city of Luskan to the north, Neverwinter Wood to the east and the wild lands of the South Road."

Caldor nodded, "Anything you can tell me about these caves?"

"Yes, the caves are in the hills to the north of Port Llast, near the Green Griffon Inn. They have long been used by humanoid tribes of orcs, bugbears and the like. Usually they are of no concern. In recent months, however, I have received word that these various creatures have been raiding the roads south of Luskan. This would not be very notable except that the creatures now seem very organized and, I hear, are being led by humans. This leads me to believe that the cult may be involved…but that's for you to determine. In any case you must remember that Aribeth will want two firm leads on the cult's location before she decides to act on it."

"Thank you. I will get to work right away." Caldor bowed slightly before Aarin then led Sharwyn back to where Daelan, Linu and Tomi were standing.

"So…what do we do now?" Linu asked as they approached.

"We're heading to some caves south of Luskan. Supposedly some orcs and such are causing a bit of trouble. There's a rumor that they're being led by a human or two. So Gend wants me to look into it."

"Ah! Well let's head out then! Don't want to keep our precious orcs waitin'." Tomi said enthusiastically.

Caldor smirked and picked up his bag and turned towards the door. Sharwyn and the others followed him outside.

"Let's head to the tavern first and see if we can find out anything else." Caldor told the others as headed toward the nearby Inn.

The tavern was busy with many people chatting loudly and playing card games.

"Tomi, try not to rob anyone while we're here. Linu, you might want to find a seat somewhere. There are a lot of cats running around in here."

"Thank you dear. I think I'll do that." The elf sat down at the nearest table soon joined by Daelan and Tomi."

"Wow, they told me you had a fine face but…gosh you're the hero of Neverwinter that much is sure."

Caldor looked around curiously then looked at Sharwyn, "What was that?"

"Down here big man."

Caldor looked down at a thin halfling male decked out in red. "Who's they?"

"Uh…the people around the inn, that's all I meant." The halfling said quickly.

"Uh huh, so what do you want exactly?"

"Err... well, I suppose I should know for sure that you are who I think you are. I don't want to make a mistake, after all."

"I am Caldor. Why do you want to know?"

"Really! You are actually Caldor Erion, then, yes?"

"Aye." Caldor replied calmly. He was quickly growing impatient with the man.

"So... you are the Caldor Erion from Neverwinter, yes? The hero who saved the city? You do look the part, but I must be sure!"

"Yes dammit! I'm the only Caldor Erion in this room!" Sharwyn smacked Caldor's arm disapprovingly. He looked at her with a slight pout then centered his attention on the halfling again.

"I'm sorry, I... just wanted to make sure it was really you. I want to thank you. I've family in Neverwinter, and you saved their lives when you cured the plague. I wanted to give you this ring as a token of my gratitude." The halfling said.

"No, keep your ring lad. Your thanks is enough." Caldor said calmly.

"But, uh... it is a very nice ring! Please take it! That's why I wanted to find you, after all, to give it to you for all you've done!" The halfling pressed.

"Fine. Thank you." Caldor took the ring and inspected it.

"I don't know if it is magical, but it's always brought me luck. I hope it brings you luck, too. Thank you again, Caldor… and farewell!" The halfling quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Caldor sighed and dropped the ring on the ground and crushed it under his boot.

"Caldor! What did you do that for?" Sharwyn asked him in shock.

"I don't trust that halfling as far as I could throw him. And I could throw him pretty far. He has no family in Neverwinter."

"And how do you know that exactly?" She asked sternly.

"Because he is a terrible liar, anyone with half a brain could tell. You would have seen it as well if you weren't paying so much attention to the bard in the corner. Something about him interesting to you, love?"

Sharwyn's cheeks colored a bit. "No…"

"Caldor nodded his head and grinned. "If you say so."

"So what's the scoop?" Tomi asked as the pair joined them at the table. He pushed two pints of ale in their direction as they sat down.

"Obviously the cult knows we're here. That halfling has to be one of their agents." Caldor told them.

"Why do you think he is part of the Cult Caldor?" Sharwyn asked.

"Once again, had you been paying attention you would know. He was real keen on making sure I was the person he was looking for. It would look rather bad on his part if he tailed the wrong person don't you think?"

Sharwyn nodded at him, ashamed that she had missed such obvious signs.

"The ring I destroyed was most likely a tracking device. So now that it is gone, the halfling will have to trail us to see what we are up to. So keep your eyes out. Don't attack him though. We'll let him make the first move."

"And why exactly do you want us to do that?" Daelan asked as he drank his ale.

"Because he could be wrong." Linu told.

"Exactly, but I doubt I'm wrong about him. We'll see what he has planned eventually." Caldor said.

"Oy! You there... you're from Neverwinter, ain't ye? Working for Aribeth?"

"Aye, I'm working for the Lady Aribeth. Who wants to know?" Caldor asked as he turned in his seat.

"I thought so, you 'ad the cure for Wailing all sewed up! Sure, I should have expected you! Name's Darktongue. Darktongue Breakbone. I've been out here since you cured the Wailing, looking for signs a' where it came from."

"Really? So what have you found out?"

"I know about as much as you mate but…I've been thinking the cult is based somewhere up North from here. On the North road there's a system of caves full of orcs an' such. I went there to check meself and ran into a squad of goblins. That's how I got me knee hurt." Darktongue pointed to the offending limb.

"So what makes you think the cult is behind it?" Caldor looked at him curiously.

"Two reasons. First, the beasts started to gather just when the plague hit Neverwinter. Second, there was a man leading the goblins who attacked me. That ain't a typical thing. Maybe the man was a cultist. Maybe not. Either way, my gut is tellin' me that the picture ain't right."

"I see. Well I'm headed that way anyway so I'll look into it myself." Caldor said thoughtfully.

"Listen, then. If you find anything, you tell me. Two heads are better than one and all that. We adventurers need to stick together to find those bastards and punish 'em! Best o' luck to you! I wish my knee was healed up so I could come with!"

"Aye." Caldor nodded.

The dwarf hobbled back to the table he was sitting at and Caldor looked at the others. "Good thing we came here. At least we know what we're walking into when we get to the caves."

The others nodded at him as they finished their drinks. "Well let's go. We don't have all day." Caldor left some gold on the table and led the group outside.

The group trotted in the direction of the gates leading to the northern road.

Once they were through the gate Caldor took a deep breath and smiled, "Finally free from civilization!"

Sharwyn chuckled, "Happy to be back in the natural world again, hm?"

"You bet your pretty rear end I am." He sighed and continued walking down the road.

Once they were a good mile away from the town Caldor held back so that Sharwyn caught up to him then grabbed her arm so that they lagged behind the other three a bit. "So…why were you looking at that bard? Were you thinking about him?"

Sharwyn looked at ground and frowned a little. "Yes…"

Caldor blinked and eyed her, "And?"

"And what Cal?" she asked sternly.

"Why were you thinking about him all of a sudden?"

"Because I can." She whispered loudly, obviously irritated with his prodding.

"What's wrong? You don't think I'm jealous do you?" he said with a slight laugh.

Sharwyn glared at him and he cleared his throat, "I mean…uh do you want to talk about it? Is there something I can do to help?"

She sighed and squeezed his hand a little, "I was just thinking…well wondering if he was still with that…woman."

"Are you worried about him?" Caldor asked quietly.

"Yea, it's not like he is with her by choice. I think I told you that she was a charm cast on him."

Caldor nodded.

"Another thing I was doing in Neverwinter was looking up a way to break the spell. You side tracked me of course." She smiled at him and he grinned.

"Did you find out what you needed though?"

"Yes I did," she sighed slightly, "But I'm not going to worry about it. I have you after all." She shrugged and looked up at the sky. In the distance she could see dark clouds, occasionally broken by the sharp white bolts of lightning. _I wonder if it's moving this way._

Caldor watched her silently and clutched her hand tightly. The noon sun brightened her blood red hair giving it a warm glow. The warmth contrasted greatly with bluish grey hue that her normally ocean blue eyes had taken. It was obvious to him that she was saddened by the thoughts of her lost love. _Gods…even when she is sad she is breathtaking._

"You want to finish what you started don't you?" Sharwyn looked up at Caldor curiously.

He smiled at her, "He saved you from a life of boring nobility. Your first love. Your best friend. Your teacher. I understand if you would want to save him from that witch and I would gladly help you. All you have to do is ask me, my love…I am yours to command."

Sharwyn smiled at him and hugged his arm affectionately. "Thank you Cal. I love you."

"I love you too princess."

"If I was one of those grouchy types I would've lost me lunch all over the back of the half-orc's boots right about now." Tomi remarked impudently.

Caldor glared at the rogue. "Is that cheek I hear dear halfling?"

"Ya damn right that's cheek ole sport. Now before you two start lockin' lips back there ya best remember what we are out here for." Tomi looked back at the paladin and grinned.

"You are really asking for it." Daelan said with a grin.

'I'm going to pretend you didn't say anything just now. Now is not the time for punting half pints."

"Oh ho! Just cause ye are 12 damn feet tall doesn't give ye the right to…to wahahaha! You know what, I'm jus' gonna shut me trap." Tomi guffawed.

"A fine idea if I ever heard one." Sharwyn told him.

Linu chuckled quietly and eyed the halfling with momentary respect.

Caldor noticed the look and smiled a little. He turned his attention back to the road ahead and squinted a bit. In the distance he could see a single farmhouse. An older looking human stood in front of the house and looked around uncomfortably as he worked.

"Hail friend! What seems to be the trouble?" Caldor asked him as he trotted up to him. The others circled around the Paladin and watched the man curiously.

"Huh? Were you sent by my son?" The man asked curiously.

"No, we just noticed you as we were passing through. Looks like you are in some sort of trouble. Is there anything we can do to help?" Sharwyn asked him.

The man's expression lightened a little, "Yes, I am in need of help. Thank you. My name is Gerrol. The hills around this area are home to creatures of all sorts…goblins, bugbears and the like. They have become quite brave as of late since the Luskan guards stopped patrolling. The bastards have attacked the farm a couple times and with their latest raid have made off with my wife, Leah. I've been thinking that the ogre Dergiab is behind it. Blast him!"

"Who is this Dergiab?" Caldor asked.

"Dergiab is a rather cunning ogre mage who has decided that he's just the right fella to lead all these critters. How he got it into his head is beyond me, but all I know is that he is building himself an army. That worries me a bit. I sent a warning to my friend Aarin Gend but haven't heard from him."

"You know Gend? Well he is the one that sent us to investigate this area." Caldor informed him.

"He did? Well that's some good news!" Gerrol said excitedly.

"I suppose, well we'll head up there and see what is going on with this Dergiab. I'll keep an eye out for your wife."

"Many thanks kind sir." Gerrol said as he shook Caldor's hand heartily.

"Right. Come on you lot. We have some goblins to smack around."

"Right-O there boss. Let's hop to it!" Tomi flipped his kukri enthusiastically as they quickly made their way up the hills.

"Keep your voice down a bit Tomi. Don't want anything jumping onto our heads." Sharwyn told him as she knelt down next to Caldor who was inspecting some tracks on the ground.

"Oh aye, sorry 'bout that."

"They're up this way." Caldor said.

He crawled up the side of hill on all fours and watched the goblins patrolling the entrance of a nearby cave.

"How many goblins are up there?" Daelan asked as he gripped his double axe tightly.

"There is about 10 goblins; 6 fighters, 2 archers and a couple Shaman. We should be able to take them out easily enough." Caldor said as he unsheathed his sword.

"Alright Daelan and Tomi, you two go around that way. Sharwyn and I will go around this way. Linu you come in once we have engaged them. Go!" He whispered.

The others nodded and moved per their directions, jumping at the goblins quickly. One fighter and a shaman were taken out before the goblins realized what was happening.

A strong looking goblin, that was obviously the leader, began barking out orders to those still alive. Three of the warriors went to attack Daelan and Tomi while the remaining three went after Caldor and Sharwyn.

The goblins were pretty decent fighters and used their height to their advantage. Caldor hit the goblin leader hard in the gut as he approached then turned and dealt the second goblin a heavy blow to the head as it attacked Sharwyn.

The archer's chose Daelan and Caldor as their targets and shot off arrows quickly. The remaining shaman choose the Paladin as her target and starting firing spells at him from behind a rock. Caldor deflected the arrows and occasional spells as he fought the leader.

Once Linu came into the fray, Sharwyn backed up to where she was standing and began firing off spells. More of her spells were directed at the lone shaman.

Daelan and Tomi's goblins were having trouble. While trying to dodge the heavy blows from Daelan's axe, they had to also avoid Tomi's sneak attacks. One goblin quickly fell from the onslaught.

Another goblin quickly dodged a swing from Daelan only to fall back onto Tomi's kukri.

Daelan grabbed the remaining goblin and tossed him towards the archers before dodging a spell from the remaining shaman. As the archers and warrior picked themselves up Caldor and Daelan pounced on them, finishing them off quickly. Seeing that she was the only one left, the shaman made a dash for the cave entrance. Tomi caught sight of her and quickly threw a dart at her. The dart found its mark in the goblin's neck. The shaman fell over and twitched a little before finally dying.

"Nice job everyone." Caldor said as he cleaned off his blade, "Prepare yourselves, we don't know how strong in numbers they are in that cave."

The others nodded and checked their supplies.

"Hey Erion, I think you should stop looking into this cult business…"

Caldor smirked and turned around, "Well, well. Our little cult friend has returned."

The others stopped what they were doing and watched the halfling.

The halfling glared at the Paladin, "You're in way over your head Caldor, consider yourself warned 'hero'." The halfling said with a sneer before he disappeared.

Caldor glanced at the others and smiled, "Well let's get going. We don't have all day."

The group picked up their gear and followed Caldor into the cave.

The cave was dimly light and smelled heavily of orc and goblin. Constant drips could be heard all around them and salt residue covered the cave walls. Humid gusts of air came at them from all directions.

Caldor searched the area they had entered and noticed two paths going in opposite directions.

"Hmm, we'll have to split up here crew. Sharwyn and I will take the right path and the rest of you go to the left."

Linu glanced at Tomi and frowned.

Caldor looked at her, waiting for her to say something.

"I don't want to be teamed up with the rogue."

"Ah, I'm hurt!" Tomi said dramatically as he threw his hand to his forehead.

"Yes, I am aware of that but, Tomi and Daelan will need your healing more than Sharwyn and I. Besides, if Tomi tries to make your life miserable I'm sure Daelan would be happy to bust his kneecaps."

"Oi, that's a bit harsh eh?" Tomi winced.

"If Tomi causes trouble I will take care of it Linu." Daelan said with a nod.

"Oh, alright I'll go with them then."

"Good, now let's split up and if you find a door or anything with a staircase just hold there until we show up. If a good couple hours and we don't show up give a sharp whistle. We'll do the same. Deal?" Caldor asked them.

All three nodded and headed down the left path.

"Let's go m'lady." Caldor said as he walked down the path to the right.

Caldor and Sharwyn walked down the corridor quietly, listening for any sounds of goblins or orcs.

"So do you think they are all down here?" Sharwyn asked quietly.

"I have no idea. For all we know, there could be multiple levels and they could be scattered all throughout. We shall see as we go further." Caldor replied as he peeked around a turn. He ducked back quickly and looked up at the ceiling and walls.

"What is it?" Sharwyn asked.

"There is a group of orcs heading our way; about seven of them." He noticed a shallow ledge two feet above him and jumped up to it. It was deep enough for a thin person to crawl along and looked to stretch around the turn and ended about where the orcs had just passed.

He jumped down and beckoned Sharwyn to him. "Here, get up on this ledge and crawl around behind them." Caldor helped her up then drew his sword.

"What about you? You can't take them all." She whispered.

"I know that, just get going."

Once Sharwyn had crawled out of sight, he sheathed his sword and took out a pair of silver kukris. He grinned as he stared at himself in the highly polished metal.

The orcs came around the corner to an empty corridor. One of the scouts paused and sniffed at the air. "Sho kar?"

The others looked at him curiously.

"De sinome amadaea!"

Caldor dropped down onto them taking out two with a couple swift slashes. He kicked a nearby orc in the head followed by two slashes across the face. He jabbed another in the stomach twice and kicked him away then spun around and slit another orc's throat. The orc with the two slashes across the face came up behind, raising his club angrily.

Caldor ducked as the orc swung at his head and kicked his feet out from under him before stabbing him in the heart. The last two stared at him dumbly before they slumped forward, an arrow in each of their backs.

Sharwyn lowered her bow and smirked at him. "You always have some new tricks up your sleeves, don't you?" She asked with an amused tone.

"Of course." He cleaned off the blades and was about to put them back in his bag when Sharwyn took them from his hands. "These slick blades are made of pure silver aren't they?" She asked as she turned them over in her hands.

"Not exactly. The blades are actually steel with a thin silver coating. The handles…" Caldor took one of the kukris and showed her the handle. "Carved ivory shaped into a water dragon with black pearls inlaid into the eyes."

"They are beautiful…"

"They're yours then." Caldor said as he handed the kukri back to her.

"But Caldor, these are yours." Sharwyn protested.

"I know, but don't beautiful weapons belong in the hands of such a beautiful woman?" He asked.

She smiled at him and looked the weapons over again.

"Besides…I can always make new ones later." He told her as he dug a leather belt out of his bag.

"It's sweet of you to give them to me, but I do not know how to use kukris." She told him.

"Well then, I will have to teach you." He said.

Caldor looped the belt behind her and pulled her toward him as he buckled it. "Is that alright?"

Sharwyn smiled at him and nodded. "Good." He said with a smirk. "We will begin your lessons once we get back to town."

Caldor picked up his bag and continued down the corridor, "Now let's see if we can find this ogre."

…

"Awoo! This is fun!" Tomi chirped.

"Quiet down halfling! Do you want all the orcs in this cavern to come crashing into us?" Daelan hissed.

"Ah, don't get ya undies in a bunch. We can 'andle any ole orc that thinks he's tough enough to take us. Ain't that right Miss Linu?"

Linu eyed the halfling warily and sighed, "No. Daelan is right. Quiet down. If we don't move along, Caldor will surely come looking for us…and he won't be happy to see that we are wasting time."

"Eh, you've got a point there. Well let's get movin' then. Don't want our fearless leader to start crackin' skulls eh?" Tomi flipped his kukri and strolled fearlessly ahead of the other two.

Linu rolled her eyes and followed behind with Daelan watching their rear. They walked down the corridor cautiously for a good 20 ft before they stopped at a door to their right.

Inside was a squad of six goblins in heavy rusting armor surrounding a crude stone throne. Sitting in the throne was a larger goblin in a better maintained set of dark brown armor. No doubt he was the leader.

"It's finally time for some action!" Tomi whispered excitedly.

Daelan nodded and surveyed the inside of the room.

"Tomi, sneak in there behind the throne and wait there until I charge the leader. Once I engage him, kill his cronies."

Tomi nodded and slithered into the room and out of sight.

Linu looked up at the half-orc. "You trust him enough that you believe he won't just let them all kill you?"

"He may be a rogue, but that doesn't mean he is a heartless, selfish bastard." Daelan said calmly as he looked at the elf. "Just like I am not a barbaric monster like most half-orcs, he will not leave you to die to save his own skin. You need to learn not to be so quick to judge someone based on their appearance or chosen profession."

Daelan hefted his axe and watched the goblins a moment. Linu watched him then averted her eyes to the ground. _Well it was a foolish thing for me to say. But I can't help it…I just don't like rogues._

"I know it must be hard to trust him," The half-orc looked down at her, "Considering what had happened. My advice to you would be to think of the positives of the person. You might find you really like them." He smiled at her.

She smiled back and nodded, "You're right. Well…I'm ready when you are."

Daelan nodded then charged into the room, bowling over two of the goblins as he crashed into the goblin chieftain. The runts squeaked in dismay and scrambled about a moment before their chieftain started barking out orders to them as he deflected the barbarian's attacks.

They only had a moment to right themselves before two fell to quick backstabs. The remaining four gawked at Tomi before they charged at him.

"Ha ha! Come an' get me!" Tomi shouted as he dodged and jabbed at the goblins.

The goblins growled as they stabbed and slashed at the nimble halfling. Tomi flipped backwards as he dodged a quick swipe from one of the guards. As he flipped, he caught the guard in the chin with his foot, knocking the goblin off his feet. Tomi rolled up off the ground onto his hands as a second goblin swung an axe into the ground where he was lying before. Tomi ducked down as he landed and slashed at the goblin's stomach, cutting a deep wound in the guard's stomach. The goblin hastily grabbed at the wound as he fell to his knees, finally keeling over.

Another goblin jumped onto Tomi's back and pulled a dagger from his boot, preparing to bury it between the halfling's shoulder blades. The remaining two jumped at the rogues feet but Tomi tilted away from them and rolled over onto his back and back to his feet. He swung at the goblin on his back, jabbing him in the side. The goblin snarled at him and snapped at Tomi's neck. The rogue grabbed the arm wrapped around his neck and threw the goblin to the ground, burying a dagger into the pest's skull. He rolled forward and kicked the feet out from the remaining goblin's and flourished a pair of daggers before shoving them into the pair's necks.

Tomi stood up, shaking with excitement as he turned to check on Daelan. The barbarian and the pint sized captain were going at it fiercely.

"Looks like that l'il runt is givin' Daelan a good ole run for 'is money, he is." He laughed as he grinned at Linu.

The cleric smiled back at him weakly and nodded. "Indeed he is."

"C'mon big D! Stomp that l'il bastid."

Daelan swung the gigantic axe around him as he crouched low, keeping the goblin back. The goblin growled at him as he circled the barbarian. Daelan glared at the goblin as he moved in a circle, still swinging the axe. The small fighter watched his movements carefully, looking for an opening. Daelan watched him as he did this then dropped the axe, whipped out a small hand axe and lunged at the goblin.

The goblin yelled in anger and held up his arms as Daelan swung the axe, burying it in his chest.

"Took ya long enuff!" Tomi grumbled playfully.

Daelan picked up his axe and eyed Tomi. "Hmph, the runts barely reach my knees. It can be a hassle to attack them."

Tomi smirked at him and tossed him a rag to clean off his axe. "I know mate, I meant nothing by it."

The barbarian smiled and led the group out of the small cave.

"Well look what've we got 'ere. I jus' found us some wonderful goblin goodies." Tomi chirped as he started shoving the items that were hidden under the throne into a bag.

"Yes, yes. That's lovely Tomi. Keep up now." Linu said quietly as she followed Daelan deeper into the cave.

"Oh aye, I'm right behind ya Miss Linu. No worries." Tomi said with a smile as he slung the bag onto his shoulder and dashed out of the cave to join the others.

…

Sharwyn searched through her pack, carefully taking any bottles out to make sure they were corked well. She watched Caldor out of the corner of her eyes. He was pacing in front of the crude aperture impatiently, occasionally glancing down the shoddily cut steps.

"Where are they…we've been here for over an hour now." He grumbled.

"We don't know what they could have run into and for all we know they could be injured."

"Meh, they have Linu with them. She may be clumsy but I trust her healing abilities. They must have run into more orcs or goblins then us. It's the only explanation for their tardiness."

"Oi, lighten up eh. We're here." Tomi said as the trio walked up to Caldor and Sharwyn.

"Finally, we don't want to be in this cave too long."

"Aye, our quarry might realize that we are here." Daelan said.

Caldor hefted his pack and led the way down the staircase. The group came down into a crudely lit hall that continued to the left. They continued forward quietly, peering into the darkness. Tomi spotted a rusting metal door up ahead and drew everyone's attention to it before creeping up to it. He pressed his ear against the door then backed away toward the group.

"It sounds like low gruntin' in there boss." He told Caldor.

Daelan sniffed at the air. "Smells like bugbears." He said quietly.

Caldor nodded then moved to the other side of the door and motioned for Daelan to stand at opposite him at the door. He looked at Tomi then motioned for him to open the door quickly. "Make sure you move out of sight fast." He whispered to him as he walked up to him.

Tomi nodded then kicked the door open quickly and moved out of view. The bugbear chieftain grunted loudly as the door swung inward. "Gar! Ohk ma no dah!" The two guards closest to the door nodded and walked outside slowly. Caldor nodded at Daelan as they came closer and both men grabbed the bugbears and snapped their necks.

"Gah! Nath kan mook!" The chief yelled as the group charged into the room.

Daelan and Tomi charged at the two remaining guards as Caldor brought his sword down on the chieftain. The bugbear blocked the attack with his axe and punched at Caldor. The paladin jumped back then drove his shoulder into bugbear's chest, knocking him backward. The chieftain fell back into his throne then rolled out of it quickly as Caldor brought his sword down on it. He turned and slashed at the paladin's side, slicing a deep wound in his side.

Caldor flinched and stomped on the bugbear's knee, breaking it instantly. The beast howled in anger as it limped away from Caldor. Tomi finished off his bugbear and turned towards the chieftain. He shook his head, chuckling silently as he buried a dagger in the beast's spinal column.

"That was just plain mean boss." Tomi said with a broad grin.

Caldor simply grunted in reply as Linu inspected the cut in his side.

Tomi and Sharwyn grabbed what valuable items there were in the nearby chests before the group headed back out into the hall. They walked down to the end of the hall where Caldor stopped them abruptly.

"Hand me your bow Sharwyn." She gave him the short bow quietly and handed him an arrow. He notched the arrow and drew it back as far as possible as he peeked around the corner. Caldor aimed at the single bugbear's head and let it loose.

The beast looked up at the arrow curiously. It almost looked as if it had just grown out of his forehead. He didn't think about it long as he fell backward.

Caldor motioned for another arrow and took out the second bugbear farther down the hall. He handed the bow back to Sharwyn and led them down the hall to a gated entrance.

"Heh, heh. This gonna hurt!" said a gruff voice from the other side of the gate.

"No! No! AAAGGGH!" screamed another voice. There were scuffling noises as the second voice fought the first one.

Caldor looked at the others a moment then crashed through the door finding two bugbears going at it.

The smaller bugbear saw him enter and yelped, "Save me please! I help you!"

The larger one turned and growled at Caldor, "You not supposed to be here! Die!" The bugbear charged at him, swinging his double axe at him menacingly.

The paladin sidestepped allowing Daelan to block the attack with his own weapon. He pushed the bugbear back forcefully then swung at him expertly, knocking him off his feet.

Daelan pushed the bugbear's head back with the blade of double axe. "Sit still." He said quietly.

The smaller bugbear shuffled forward and nodded at Caldor. "Most thankful I am. You saved poor I from torture."

"Why was he torturing you?" Caldor asked.

The bugbear glanced at his kin on the ground that looked back at Caldor. "The chieftain imprisoned I. The master ordered 'cause I speaks against him."

"Who is this 'master' you speak of?"

"He huge creature, giant methinks. Comes to the tribes of the caves and takes the strongest away, me not knows why." The bugbear fidgets a little.

"Where can I find this master? Is he in this cave system?"

"Be following this tunnel out of cell to north. It go a little east, then back south to tunnel down to temple. Master live down there. I not know more than that."

Caldor looked at the others and nodded, "Okay thank you. You may go."

The bugbear nodded, "Yes I leaves this hills far behind. Thank you." The beast shuffled past the group then scurried out of the prison.

"Kill that one." Daelan nods and decapitates the bugbear torturer.

"Is…is someone out there! Hello!" The group looked ahead of them to see a pale dirty arm waving at them from between some rested metal bars.

"Are you Leah?" Sharwyn asks as she walks up to the cell.

"Yes I am. Did Gerrol send you?" Leah asked.

"Pretty much, we were heading this way when we saw him working."

"Oh thank you! Thank you! I just want to leave here and go home to my family."

"Can we ask you some quick questions first before you go?"

"Yes, of course."

"Do you know anything about these caves?" Caldor asked.

"Not much, the beasts only let me out of this cell to cook and sew. But I did hear them mention a 'master'. It sounded like they feared him though. Their strongest were sent to do his bidding."

"Nothing else you can tell us?" Sharwyn asked.

Leah shook her head and rubbed her right arm anxiously.

"Alright, Tomi…please escort Leah to the entrance then hurry back here."

The rogue saluted and beckoned Leah to follow him as he ran out of the prison.

"Looks like another doorway in that cavern down there." Caldor said as he motioned for the bow again and took out the bugbear at the end of the corridor.

Once Tomi had returned they continued quietly towards the doorway. They stopped where the corridor opened out into a large cavern and looked around. It was fairly quiet except for the constant dripping from a nearby spring and the gently lapping of the water against the stone banks. A large group of bats flew past their heads as they made their way out of the caves for the nights hunt. Rats could also be seen scurrying across the ground in their endless search for food.

"Be on your guard everyone." Caldor said as he led the way into the cavern. Sudden grunts and falling rock alerts everyone immediately as the bugbears stumble forward, officially failing at ambushes.

Caldor shakes his head at them as the four bugbears charge forward, brandishing their weapons threateningly. He ducks as one jumps at him, turning quickly to cut a deep gash in the beast's inner thigh. The bugbear rolled back onto his feet, clutching at his wound as he threw an axe at Caldor. The paladin dodged it and the axe was caught by Daelan who in turn threw it back at the bugbear, lodging it into the beast's skull.

Sharwyn jabbed at a bugbear that was coming at Linu who was casting a quick healing spell onto Tomi. The rogue rolled between the legs of his attacker and split the bugbear along the spinal column then kicked his feet from under him, quickly finishing him off.

The bugbear attacking Sharwyn swung his flail wildly and caught her on the cheek, knocking her off balance. Daelan saw him and grabbed the bugbear by the scruff of his neck and slammed him face first into the ground.

Caldor grabbed the remaining bugbear from behind and snapped his neck. He looked at the others who stared back at him, all breathing hard.

"Well, they put up quite a fight." Linu said.

"Aye, tha' they did. Big lugs neva stood a chance though." Tomi grinned and cleaned off his kukri before sheathing it again.

"Is your cheek alright?" Caldor asked as he centered his attention on the bard.

She rubbed it absentmindedly and nodded, "Yes, I'm alright."

"Well let's keep going." Caldor led them down the stairway.

They came down into a small cavern with a small water fall to their left. Daelan sniffed at the air and walked forward and stopped at an old iron gate. Caldor walked forward and looked into the cell.

"I don't recognize you. Have you come to finish what Dergiab started? Nah, you don't look like you belong here…" A greenish tinged half orc male emerged from out of the shadows and eyed them through the gate.

"Who is this Dergiab you mention?" Caldor asked.

The half orc snorted, "I would have assumed the denizens would have filled you in already. The 'master' is all they babble on about! Dergiab – or the 'master', if you prefer, is an ogre mage of some power. He was my former partner until that cultist showed up."

"He was your partner eh?"

"Yea, he was before he came back with that cultist. We were building an army together." The half-orc spit to the side obviously displeased with the past incident.

"What was the army for?"

"Hmph. For what else? For power of course. We wanted to do the same thing as Sythsillis in Amn! Maybe even raid Luskan…" The half orc trailed off for a moment, "There aren't many soldiers yet. I was insistent on only recruiting the best bugbears, orcs and goblins. In these caves, unfortunately, there's pretty slim pickings."

"Tell me more about this cult he fell into."

"I don't know much. On one of Dergiab's outings he came back with that cultist. Told me there had been a change of plans. Dergiab only listened to the cultist after that. Said he was preparing the army for something greater. I objected, naturally, and here I am." He gestured to the cell.

"What do you know about this cultist?"

"His name is Ganon. He's an assassin or rogue. Something like that. I never spoke to him much so there isn't much I can tell you."

"Do you know for what purpose the cult wants this army?"

"Nah, Dergiab would only tell me they were needed for the 'Return'. Whatever that is. Ganon wouldn't elaborate either, at least not to me. That's all I can tell you."

Caldor nodded and gestured for Tomi to pick the lock. "You're free to go."

The half orc nodded at him and walked out. Daelan put his hand on his shoulder to stop. "This life is never the best for our kind. You should look into a different career."

The half orc smirked and nodded, "You're right about that. I've always wanted to be a sailor…might look into that. Thanks." Daelan removed his hand and watched as the half orc ran up the stairs.

Caldor smiled at the barbarian and led them further into the cave. The group fought there way through the small packs as they looked for their leaders. After a good 45 minutes of searching, Tomi spotted them in a large cave near the back.

"It looks like they are chatting about somethin' over some maps." He whispered to the group.

"Well let's go in and say hello." Caldor hefted his sword and brashly entered the cavern.

Ganon gawked at him and seemed to shake with rage. "Destroy the intruders! The Return must not be stopped!"

"With pleasure." Dergiab growled as he began charging a spell. Millions of whitish blue missiles shot towards Caldor. The paladin raised his arm and whirled it in a circle, drawing the missiles into his bracer. The milky blue ogre gawked at him as the last of the missiles disappeared and Caldor charged toward him, his great sword raised high. Dergiab blocked the attack with his double axe and jumped backwards before swinging the axe in an upward arc towards Caldor's chest.

The others charged into the room and centered their attention on Ganon. The human drew his weapon and charged at them, shouting a hopeless war cry as he ran. Sharwyn and Tomi stepped aside as the human ran into Daelan. The barbarian grabbed Ganon by his collar and hefted him up as he disarmed him. "Check him." He said to Sharwyn who immediately patted him down to see what clues he may have on him. "Nothing."

"So human…what are you doing here and who sent you?" He asked calmly.

"I will tell you nothing worm! You and your ilk shall not disturb the Return! You will die just like the rest!" Ganon shouted madly.

Daelan sighed at the man and snapped his neck, throwing him aside like a rag doll. "Check that chest over there." He barked at Tomi.

The halfling smirked and threw up a lopsided salute before ducking under the fighting paladin and ogre as he made his way to the chest.

Caldor kicked the ogre in the stomach, sending him crashing through one of the shoddily built huts. The paladin jumped in after him and was soon sent out of the hole again as a fireball barely missed the top of his head. He scrambled to his feet and kicked one of the wooden stilts out from under the hut, making it topple forward. Dergiab jumped out through the broken wall as the hut crashed to the ground. He brought his axe down hard onto Caldor, who ducked to the side and rammed the hilt of his sword into the ogre's side.

Dergiab twisted away as he rubbed the spot that the hilt hit him and swung the axe towards Caldor like a club. Caldor ducked and smirked as Daelan grabbed the ogre mage from behind and pinned him to the ground.

Tomi tossed the book he found in the chest to Caldor. The paladin looked the book over and read a particularly interesting passage out loud.

'_I find I've grown fond of the monsters in these caves. _

_They are savage, violent, and easily whipped into a frenzy_

_by my puppet ogre mage Dergiab. Not entirely unlike the_

_rest of us who have turned following Maugrim into a _

_religion... He the puppeteer, we his willing puppets._

_And to think he sent me here to search for some ancient_

_artifact as he sent my brothers to Charwood and the_

_Neverwinter Wood. It isn't in this place. It would have_

_left some tell-tale sign. It would want to be found._

_It would call me to it. Perhaps they have had better_

_luck in the two Woods. So, instead of being a_

_puppet, I have become the puppeteer. _

_Not so grand as Maugrim but, even so, look how _

_Dergiab struts and schemes at my bidding...'_

"So this Maugrim guy is the one we are looking for. Ancient artifacts…I wonder what they are. Whatever the case, we better get this back to Aribeth. There is nothing else to be found here." Caldor told the group as he put the journal in his pack.

"What should we do with this one?" Daelan motioned to the ogre on the ground.

"Kill him. We need his head too."

"Caldor."

The paladin turned and looked at Sharwyn curiously, "Yes?"

"Why don't we take him back with us for questioning?" She asks him.

"I see no need to. The person we needed alive is unfortunately already dead." Caldor looked at Daelan and glared at him playfully.

The half-orc shrugged, "Didn't think we would get anything useful out of him. Seeing as he was raving like a damn lunatic."

Caldor shook his head and grinned, "Tsk, tsk my treasured friend. You don't seem to understand the power of a good beating. It matters not, we have his journal and that is all we need."

The rest of the group followed Caldor to a rusting iron door at the back of the cave. Tomi quickly unlocked the door to reveal a shimmering yellow portal. Daelan came up behind them, still stuffing the ogre head into a sack.

"I'm guessing this goes to the surface?" Linu said as she walked up to it.

"Only one way to find out." Caldor walked through, quickly followed by the others.

The group found themselves outside the caves, standing at the side of the road. They began walking back towards Port Llast but were soon stopped by a familiar face.

"Back again I see halfling…here to warn us once again?" Caldor said with a smirk. The red halfling was flanked by two others this time. Most likely his guards.

"I already warned you once 'Hero' but you are stupider than you look!" The halflings unsheathed their weapons and calmly walked toward the group.

"We'll end your snooping here." The red halfling stopped and eyed the group. "Where is that rogue?"

Caldor looked up at the low hanging branch that Tomi had been standing on then looked back down at the halflings with a slight smirk.

The rogue had circled behind the group and climbed up the tree. He waited for the halfings to make their move before he made his. Tomi spun in the air gracefully as he beheaded the leader then dispatched his cronies with elegant twists of his wrists. He looked up from his kneeling position and winked.

"He was really irkin' me ya know. Makin' us 'alflings look bad." The rogue quickly cleaned off his blades and continued towards Port Llast. The group grinned at each other and followed the pint sized rogue back to town.

"Nice moves there rogue." Daelan said aloud.

"Many thanks chum. That fool wasn't payin' proper attention to 'is surroundings. 'Twas easy to make short work of 'im and 'is goons.

"Well for that performance I think I owe you a drink little man." Caldor said with a grin.

Tomi looked back at the paladin with a broad grin. "Now tha's what I'm talkin' 'bout. A man after me own heart he is. Very glad to be workin' unda ya Cal."

Caldor waved him away. "It is an honor for me to be working with such a fine crew such as yourselves."

"Well thank you good sir." Linu smiled at him warmly.

Sharwyn jabbed Caldor hard in the side and took off toward the Port. "Last one to town gets to buy dinner!"

"Hey! No fair." Caldor yelled as he chased after her.

The remaining three made faces of mock horror at each other as they chased after the other two.

"I'm not paying for dinner!" The sentence echoed throughout the countryside as the group laughed all the way back to town.


End file.
